Germany to join French nuclear exercise in bid to boost defence cooperation

Germany to join French nuclear exercise in bid to boost defence cooperation Germany will take part in a French nuclear exercise later this year, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday after key defence talks with French President Emmanuel Macron at an air base near Cologne. Merz said the two countries would also continue to develop the cloud solution from the FCAS joint fighter jet project that collapsed earlier this year. The leaders of France and Germany on Friday committed to deeper defence cooperation – including on nuclear deterrence – as they sought to move past the collapse of a flagship joint jet fighter project. Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at a press conference after a joint meeting of the two governments, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that this year would see German troops join a French military nuclear exercise. "This is complementary to our nuclear participation and deterrence within NATO, which we still hold to," he said. Macron said earlier this year that Germany was one of eight countries which had agreed to participate in a French-led nuclear deterrence project. However he has stressed that France – one of Western Europe's two nuclear powers alongside the United Kingdom – will retain tight control over nuclear decision-making. Read moreAs faith in the US wavers, can France’s nuclear umbrella deter Russia? The talks on the future of the countries' defence cooperation follow the collapse of a flagship joint jet fighter project earlier this year. For Macron, there is an urgent need to make progress in this area before next spring's presidential election, in which far-right leader Marine Le Pen is a frontrunner to be his successor. The prospect of a Le Pen presidency adds yet more uncertainty for European countries already scrambling to boost defence capabilities in the face of the Russian threat and waning US commitment under President Donald Trump. Addressing the issue on Friday, Merz told reporters that Germany's "hand remains extended towards France" regardless of who French voters pick. 'Bounce back' Merz and Macron earlier emerged from a Super Puma helicopter – itself a symbol of successful Franco-German cooperation – before leading the joint defence and security council held next to a French Rafale jet and a Eurofighter, a key component of Germany's air force. The full cabinets of both governments got together for talks in a castle near Cologne where French president Charles de Gaulle and German chancellor Konrad Adenauer agreed on the idea of a friendship treaty between the two countries in 1962. Macron said Thursday that he wanted the meetings to give a "new dynamic" to defence cooperation as part of creating a "powerful Europe which unites our strengths". The aim is for the two countries to "bounce back" from last month's implosion of the joint Future Combat Air System (FCAS) fighter jet project, which fell victim to bickering between Airbus and France's Dassault. Read moreBlow to EU defence cooperation as France, Germany abandon joint fighter jet programme Merz told reporters on Friday that the two countries would continue to develop the cloud solution from the abandoned fighter jet project. Merz also said Germany would take part in "a manoeuvre in the autumn held on the initiative of France" as part of the Coalition of the Willing group of Ukraine's allies. At a meeting of the group on Monday, Macron said a multinational force for Ukraine, which would be deployed once the fighting ends, would hold exercises in the coming months in countries neighbouring Ukraine "to validate our deployment plans and demonstrate that we are ready". (FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters)