Macron, new German Chancellor Merz pledge stronger Franco-German ties
French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, have agreed to strengthen cooperation to play a leadership role in helping Europe deal with threats from Russia and other challenges.
Merz, who took office on Tuesday, visited France on his first trip abroad as the new German leader the following day.
Following their talks, Merz told reporters that Europe has enormous challenges and will only be able to meet them if France and Germany stand even more closely together than in the past.
Macron said European security is their most important mission. He pointed to the need to boost defense cooperation and investment, including expanding weapons development. He also disclosed plans to set up a joint defense and security council to meet regularly.
Germany attaches utmost importance to its ties with its neighbor, France.
The two superpowers in Europe have been viewed as playing a pivotal role in shaping the policies, among other matters, of the European Union. But no such alliance seemed apparent between Merz's predecessor, Olaf Scholz, and Macron.
Merz will visit Poland later on Wednesday to further pursue active diplomacy in what appears to be an attempt to show how Germany is reshaping itself following political stagnation in the country.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
a day ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
To Berlin's Relief, Musk — Not Merz — Got Slammed during White House Visit
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday BERLIN – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz went to the White House on Thursday to talk about trade, war, peace and the future of the Western alliance – a high-stakes meeting for which his top advisers made painstaking preparations. President Donald Trump had something he wanted to say, too. About Elon Musk. Sitting next to Merz in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he was 'very disappointed' in his former adviser. Musk returned fire, and the two ex-besties were off on a wild, hours-long breakup that dominated the day's news cycle at home and abroad. But see things from the Germans' side. What they felt was … palpable relief. Under the headline 'New Best Friends?' a political commentator for Germany's BR broadcaster wrote: 'It could hardly have gone better for the chancellor. His meeting with the U.S. president in the Oval Office, sometimes a scene of public humiliation, was extremely polite and almost harmonious.' Germans, including Merz and his delegation, seemed thankful that Trump's trademark rage had been directed elsewhere during the meeting and was nothing like the president's public castigations of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during their visits to the White House 'You are smiling,' Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) told Merz as he gathered with a gaggle of senators following the White House meeting. 'That's a very good sign.' 'Still standing!' added Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), to laughter. Merz told the German broadcaster ZDF that he was 'very satisfied' with the meeting. Displaying no worry or concern about the visit being overshadowed, he added: 'I expected us to get along well. And that's exactly what happened.' It did not escape German commentators, however, that on camera the leader of the European Union's most populous country, and the third-largest economy in the world, only got to speak for about four minutes in the meeting as Trump mostly held forth with the press. But global leaders appear to be learning how to manage their encounters with Trump, or at least survive them. 'The team behind Merz prepared meticulously for this visit, and it showed. Phone calls between Merz and Trump prior to the visit helped pave the way for a smooth meeting,' said Sudha David-Wilp, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund. 'Both leaders felt comfortable with each other and President Trump was in a positive mood yesterday, but many hurdles and summits are ahead. The challenge is to concentrate on the shared interest and channel out the noise.' Like others before him, Merz also came bearing gifts. But were they the right gifts? Trump was presented with a gold-framed copy of his German grandfather's birth certificate. Gold is always good with Trump. But the president's reaction appeared a little tepid – though he did look up at the wall and joke that maybe he could find a place for it there. He seemed more enthusiastic about a golf club engraved with the U.S. and German flags. Merz is a fellow golfer and later posted on Instagram a picture of Trump with the club. Merz will soon have the opportunity to see how the partnership fares on German soil. The chancellor told German broadcaster ARD that Trump had accepted an invitation to visit Germany. Merz said last month that he plans to include a trip to the small wine-growing town Kallstadt – the hometown of Trump's grandfather – during the president's anticipated visit. Free from the baggage of his predecessors – including Olaf Scholz, who worked closely with President Joe Biden, and Angela Merkel, whom Trump repeatedly berated for her open-door migration policy at the height of Europe's migration crisis a decade ago – Merz's blank sheet going into the Oval Office was evidently advantageous. 'The whole world now knows: Trump has nothing against this German; he likes him,' German daily the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote. 'Perhaps the most important reason for this: Friedrich Merz is not Angela Merkel.' Following a question about the sweeping travel restrictions on 19 countries that Trump announced Wednesday, the president criticized Merkel's migration policy. 'We want to keep bad people out of our country. … Of course, you have a little problem, too, with some of the people that were allowed into your country,' Trump said to Merz. 'It's not your fault. … It shouldn't have happened. I told her it shouldn't have happened, but it did,' Trump said, without naming Merkel. Merz didn't respond. Merz appeared to handle Trump more smoothly than he did British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, though he had fewer speaking lines. Perhaps less was more. Merz mostly went out of his way to praise and flatter Trump, but he also remained assertive – insisting, for instance, that Russia alone was to blame for civilian deaths following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. For the most part, Merz had Trump nodding along – except when Merz mentioned the children in war-torn Ukraine, at which point Trump stopped nodding and froze. 'Under normal diplomatic practice, Donald Trump's monologue would be an affront to the chancellor,' German publication Focus wrote. Instead, Merz took it in stride and used his small amount of speaking time wisely, the magazine wrote. There were some noteworthy exchanges, including one about Nazis. Merz began noting that June 6 was the anniversary of D-Day, when the Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, 'when the Americans ended a war in Europe.' That day in 1944 was the symbolic start of Europe's liberation in World War II. Trump jumped in: 'That was not a pleasant day for you? This is not a great day.' Merz answered: 'No, in the long run, this was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship.' Vice President JD Vance appeared again on his spot on the sofa as the president's wing man. But he did not pounce – and Merz made sure to say thank you. 'We owe the Americans a lot,' the chancellor said. 'We will never forget about them.' Turning toward the president, he continued, 'so with your German provenance, I think this is a very good basis for close cooperation between America and Germany.' It was unclear exactly what Merz and Germany might get out of the meeting, other than future encounters minus any awkward baggage. After Merz took a firm stand on Russia's responsibility for the war in Ukraine, Trump suggested that Russia and Ukraine be treated as two children fighting on a playground who should simply be left to battle it out. Asked by the press about Trump's comparison of the war to a playground tussle, Merz didn't take the bait. 'I think we both agree on this war and how terrible this war is going on,' he said. 'We are both looking for ways to stop it very soon.' Booth reported from London.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
EU backs International Criminal Court after U.S. sanctions judges
The EU gave its backing on Friday to the International Criminal Court after Washington imposed sanctions on four ICC judges, and EU member Slovenia said it would push Brussels to use its power to ensure the U.S. sanctions could not be enforced in Europe. "The ICC holds perpetrators of the world's gravest crimes to account and gives victims a voice. It must be free to act without pressure," European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said on social media platform X. Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, which represents national governments of the 27 member states, called the court "a cornerstone of international justice" and said its independence and integrity must be protected. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on four judges at the ICC in retaliation for the war tribunal's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past decision to open a case into alleged war crimes by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. order names Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin and Beti Hohler of Slovenia. The U.S. sanctions mean the judges are now on a list of specially designated sanctioned individuals. Any U.S. assets they have will be blocked and they are put on an automated screening service used by not only American banks but many banks worldwide, making it very difficult for sanctioned persons to hold or open bank accounts or transfer money. Trump's initial order announcing sanctions on the ICC also said that U.S. citizens who provide services for the benefit of sanctioned individuals could face civil and criminal penalties. Slovenia urged the EU to use its blocking statute, which lets the EU ban European companies from complying with U.S. sanctions that Brussels deems unlawful. The power has been used in the past to prevent Washington from banning European trade with Cuba and Iran. "Due to the inclusion of a citizen of an EU member state on the sanctions list, Slovenia will propose the immediate activation of the blocking act," Slovenia's foreign ministry said in a post on social media site X late on Thursday. The ICC's president, Judge Tomoko Akane, had urged the EU already in March this year to bring the ICC into the scope of the blocking statute. The new sanctions have been imposed at a difficult time for the ICC, which is already reeling from earlier U.S. sanctions against its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who last month stepped aside temporarily amid a United Nations investigation into alleged sexual misconduct. The court's governing body, which represents its 125 member states, on Friday condemned the U.S. government's decision to retaliate against judges. "These ... are regrettable attempts to impede the Court and its personnel in the exercise of their independent judicial functions," the Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties said.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
Ukraine hits out at Europe's payout from frozen Russian cash
Ukraine's government has criticized a decision to take billions of euros of Russian wealth frozen in Europe and hand it to Western investors, warning that it weakened Europe's stand against Moscow. The criticism follows a move last month by Belgium's Euroclear to take €3 billion ($3.4 billion) of Russian investor cash held at the clearing firm to pay Westerners who lost out when Moscow seized their money held in Russia. Now Ukraine has warned that it sends a wrong signal and threatens to weaken Europe's hand when dealing with Russia, while it debates using the entire $300 billion of Russian wealth stranded in Europe to rebuild and defend the battered country. "If private investors are compensated before the victims of war, it won't be justice," said Iryna Mudra, a senior official in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, in Kyiv's first public comments on the move. "It creates a perception of inconsistency, of Europe wavering in its resolve," Mudra, a deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration, said. "International law requires that the aggressor is to make full reparation to the victim and not to investors who ... entered a high-risk jurisdiction," said Mudra, who is in charge of legal affairs in Zelenskyy's administration. The criticism comes at a critical time for the Western alliance backing Kyiv, with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration distancing itself from Europe and casting doubt over its commitment to Ukraine's defense and Russian sanctions. Mudra, one of a small circle of officials that set policy, also stressed the importance of maintaining control of the frozen Russian assets, which chiefly belong to its central bank with the majority held at Euroclear. The central bank assets were frozen at the outset of war in the single most powerful sanction directed at Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a penalty that is deeply resented in Moscow. Euroclear in March gained clearance from Belgium, its principal legal authority, to make the payout, people familiar with the matter have said, after the European Union changed its sanctions regime last year to make this possible. A spokesperson for the Belgian government said, "This is not a Belgian decision but the application of a European regulation decided unanimously by the member states." Euroclear has emphasized that it only implements sanctions and does not take decisions about lifting them. Three Russian sources recently said that Russian President Vladimir Putin's conditions for ending the war include the resolution of the frozen assets issue. Ukraine, meanwhile, is campaigning fiercely against any return of the money to Moscow. Euroclear alone held €195 billion of cash in March — mainly Russian central bank funds, with some belonging to Russian investors. "If it is returned to Russia, it will be converted into tanks, missiles, drones, training of new troops," said Ukraine's Mudra. "The world ... must demonstrate that unlawful war brings irreversible financial consequences." Some see the frozen Russian wealth as a lifeline for Kyiv. In the past, the West has engineered loans and payments to Ukraine from the interest on the stranded Russian stockpile, which Putin denounced as theft. Ukrainian officials fear the Euroclear payout, even though it does not affect the central bank money, could undermine their efforts to secure an agreement on using the wider pool of Russian assets to help their country. Mykola Yurlov, an official at Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the payout set a bad precedent, while Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian parliamentarian, was also critical of the move. "Western companies were operating in Russia at their own risk. Why are these companies basically asking their societies to compensate for this risk?" Rudik said. "We need this money to rebuild and defend Ukraine." Last month's move also drew criticism abroad. "It is mind boggling that the priority is to reimburse corporate interests rather than spend the money defending Ukraine," said Jacob Kirkegaard, a sanctions expert with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington-based think tank. While the payout to investors left frozen Russian central bank reserves untouched, it made a dent in the stockpile of Russian wealth that gives the EU leverage over Moscow. More importantly for critics, it sets a worrying precedent. European Union leaders are expected to renew sanctions, including a freeze of Russian assets, at a summit meeting in June, although they could yet face an attempt by Moscow-friendly Hungary to derail those efforts.
