Chancellor Merz and Macron: Unity in the customs dispute and armistice required!

Chancellor Merz and Macron: Unity in the customs dispute and armistice required!

Berlin, Deutschland - On July 24, 2025, Chancellor Friedrich Merz received the French President Emmanuel Macron for an important conversation about current challenges in trade and in security policy. The trade dispute between the EU and the United States played a central role, in which both heads of the state agreed on coverage positions. The government spokesman Kornelius emphasized that Merz and Macron agree that the EU must reserve other trade policy instruments if negotiations with the United States do not work, such as Deutschlandfunk reported.

Merz and Macron also called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and emphasized the need that Israel had to ensure the humanitarian care of the Palestinian civilian population. While the political tensions continue to worsen, the tariffs continue to develop as a hot iron in the commercial dialogue. Currently, the tariffs amount to 25% for cars as well as steel and aluminum products, whereby a possible increase was threatened to 50%, as Tagesschau

difficult negotiations and own interests

Merz, who took the initiative at the EU summit in Brussels on June 26, 2025, called for a rapid agreement in the customs dispute. The aim is to again establish Germany as a driving force within the EU. In this context, he took part in an informal meeting of 21 of the 27 EU member states, which was to develop a newly designed migration policy. Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands led this meeting, supported by Italy's head of government Giorgia Meloni. In this context, Austria's Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker also addressed the idea of return or deportation centers for rejected asylum seekers in third countries.

Merz spoke out for a “migration turn” and criticized the EU Commission for the complicated negotiations in the customs dispute. The deadline for a trade agreement with the USA, which expires on July 9, 2025, also caused additional pressure. An agreement could be of great importance for the EU, because while some EU countries, such as Spain, are calling for a harder approach to Israel, Merz records on a reserved line and rejects punitive measures and the suspension of the EU association agreement.

a differentiated picture of EU policy

The discussions in the context of the EU summit reflect the challenges and different points of view of the member states. In the final declaration, a knowledge of the EU test report on Israel was anchored, and further consultations are to follow in July 2025. The attempt to find a common attitude is difficult, which underlines the clear divergence among European countries.

It remains to be seen how the negotiations between the EU and the USA will develop and whether Merz will get closer to his goal of strengthening Germany as a trading policy actor. The coming months could be crucial for the future economic and political orientation of the EU.