"The simmering spat between France and Germany bubbled over publicly when German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the Machtwechsel podcast that the collaboration to build a nuclear-capable fighter jet with France is "not what we currently need in the German military." The project, known as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), was launched in 2017 with then-Chancellor Angela Merkel and still-in-post French President Emmanuel Macron, but now looks in jeopardy."
"Reducing dependence on the US Trump's threats to annex Greenland, his administration's wavering support for the NATO military alliance and Ukraine, and his trade tariffs, have caused a shift in atmosphere in Brussels and around EU capitals towards reducing dependence on the US, especially regarding military systems. "That's why some of Merz's public comments are not so smart," said Guntram Wolff, senior fellow at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank. "What you don't want to do is give the impression that you will continue buying American equipment at all costs," said Wolff. "We need to shift away from US equipment, towards European equipment I think most people have understood that by now.""
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz questioned the need for the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS), calling it not what Germany currently needs. FCAS was launched in 2017 under Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron and aims to produce a nuclear-capable fighter jet. A German pullback could jeopardize progress and weaken joint European defense efforts. European capitals are shifting to reduce dependence on the US after Trump-era threats, wavering NATO support, and trade tariffs. Think-tank experts warn against isolating other Europeans and urge a shift from US systems toward European equipment. The US feared FCAS might curb American arms purchases.
#franco-german-relations #future-combat-air-system-fcas #european-defense #us-europe-military-dependence
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