Alden Biesen (Belgium) (AFP) – Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz appeared hand in hand on Thursday during an informal summit of the European Union at the Belgian castle of Alden Biesen, to try to minimize fundamental differences between France and Germany on the recovery of the European economy.
Published on: 02/12/2026 - 12:09
The French president and the German chancellor appeared together in front of the cameras, at the start of this meeting of heads of state and government in the cold and drizzle of the Belgian countryside.
“Happy to be there with Chancellor Merz,” said Emmanuel Macron, while his entourage reported a tête-à-tête between the two leaders just before this summit.
“We share this feeling of urgency that our Europe must act very clearly” in the face of “very strong pressure”, unfair competition from China and customs duties from the United States, he insisted.
Emmanuel Macron called for “implementing everything we agree on and moving much faster on simplification, deepening the single market, questions of energy and financing. There is a very strong Franco-German agreement on the union of capital markets which is very important,” he insisted.
“I am delighted that Emmanuel Macron and I almost always agree on these questions” of competitiveness and the internal market, also assured Friedrich Merz.
After their statements, the two leaders did not respond to the press, trying to avoid angry questions.
Because differences are emerging again between Paris and Berlin on the European economy.
The idea relaunched by Mr. Macron of using common European loans to finance investments in the sectors of the future was freshly welcomed by Germany, always very cautious on budgetary issues.
Same divergence on the “European preference” pushed by France, an obligation for certain companies benefiting from public funds, including automobile manufacturers, to source European components.
Mr. Merz considers that such a solution must be reserved only for strategic sectors and only as a last resort, without excluding certain partner countries.
Paris is also tense by the rapprochement between Germany and Italy of Giorgia Meloni on European issues in recent weeks.
At Alden Biesen Castle, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz were this time hand in hand, while Giorgia Meloni appeared alone in front of the press, like the other European leaders.
© 2026 AFP
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