Macron will visit Germany in July amid rifts between the EU’s biggest powers

Macron is expected to arrive in Germany on July 2 and stay until July 4, culminating in a state banquet at Berlin’s Bellevue Palace hosted by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on July 3, according to officials familiar with the matter. preparations for the visit, informs POLITICO.

Also, the French president is to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss European and international politics.

The planned state visit comes at a sensitive time. Relations between Germany and France faced a serious breakdown last fall when Macron postponed a Franco-German meeting. The joint cabinet meeting was finally held in January.

While the two leaders have found common ground on the need to act on US environmental subsidies, major differences remain between Berlin and Paris in key policy areas. These include the planned reform of EU financial rules, French pressure to classify nuclear power as a “green” technology and how the EU should position itself amid growing geopolitical tensions between the US and China.

Macron’s comments in an interview last month with POLITICO, according to which Europe should not be drawn into an American-Chinese conflict over Taiwan, triggered a strong reaction from Germany.

At the same time, France and Germany want to step up cooperation in dealing with Russia’s war in Ukraine, as well as on issues such as hydrogen, semiconductors and defense. Regarding the latter point, Berlin and Paris intend to develop a joint fighter jet with Spain, as well as a joint main battle tank.