After the signing of the new German-French friendship treaty a good month ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives in Paris today to head of state Emmanuel Macron. The two top politicians wanted before the EU spring summit in March again clearly on a new European industrial strategy, it said.
Recently, the Brussels EU Commission had blocked the Franco-German merger of Siemens and Alstom in the rail sector because of competition concerns, triggering protests in Berlin and Paris. The Elysee Palace will also discuss the British EU exit, transatlantic relations and defense cooperation. The export of jointly manufactured armaments is a sensitive issue. From Paris and London there is sharp criticism of the stop German arms exports to Saudi Arabia, because it also affected joint projects.
