After his conservative bloc came out ahead in German legislative elections with almost 30 percent of the vote, Friedrich Merz must now forge a coalition government. Merz has pledged to revive the

Already, Merz has pledged to increase defense spending and put Paris, Warsaw, and London at the lead of a new policy to shore up Ukraine’s sovereignty and defend Europe from Russia with or without the United States.

BERLIN (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's conservative chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz agreed during a meeting in Paris to open a new chapter in Franco-German relations, a source close to Merz told Reuters.

Friedrich Merz heralds a new era for Europe without the US as a key partner, writes Europe editor Katya Adler.

France and Germany have been hamstrung in recent months ... me whom I should be talking to in Germany,” he told a televised debate a week ago. “Friedrich Merz would be loath to work with the AfD,” said Sudha David-Wilp, vice president of external ...

The first step towards Mr Merz being effective on the European stage is for him to forge a coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats at home, a task expected to take several more weeks. But the agreement announced on March 4th was startling in its ambition.

As Germany's Friedrich Merz gets closer to becoming chancellor, many asylum seekers live in fear of what his promised crackdown on irregular immigration will mean for them.

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While Merz is already setting the scene for his chancellery with an unprecedented, debt-funded investment announcement, Germany remains stuck with awkward double structures that limit the ability for Europe’s largest economy to act on foreign policy at a crucial time – thus constraining the continent’s capacities.

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron will dine with Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Wednesday evening, the Elysee said. The palace said the two leaders would meet for a "working dinner" but gave no further detail.

PARIS — France is warming up to the possibility of seizing Russian frozen assets to help Ukraine, said an official with direct knowledge of talks within the French government and between Paris and Berlin.

European Union leaders are holding emergency summit talks to beef up their own military defenses and make sure Ukraine will still be properly protected as Europe faces the prospect of the U.S. cutting it adrift.