France and Germany Commit to Deeper Defense Ties After Jet Project Collapse

The leaders of France and Germany agreed on Friday to expand military cooperation, including joint nuclear exercises, after the collapse of their flagship fighter jet program. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said German troops would join a French military nuclear exercise this year. He described the step as complementary to NATO nuclear participation.

President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this year that Germany was one of eight countries that had agreed to participate in a French-led nuclear deterrence project. He stressed that France would retain tight control over nuclear decision-making. Merz also said Germany would take part in an autumn maneuver 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 would hold exercises in the coming months in countries neighboring Ukraine.

The full cabinets of both governments met in a castle near Cologne. The site was where French President Charles de Gaulle and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer agreed on the idea of a friendship treaty in 1962. The two countries had been seeking to bounce back from last month's collapse of the joint Future Combat Air System fighter jet project.

The project fell victim to disagreements between Airbus and France's Dassault. There are also concerns for another joint project, the Main Ground Combat System, which aims to replace battle tanks used by France and Germany. The project has faced internal tensions since Germany's Rheinmetall entered the effort.

Air defense has been another point of disagreement. Germany is pushing its European Sky Shield Initiative, which relies heavily on the American Patriot and the Israeli-American Arrow 3 systems. France has refused to take part, arguing that it would increase Europe's dependence on the United States.