Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a working dinner in Paris on Thursday.
The German cabinet announced the upcoming visit on September 10. The talks are supposed to focus on “urgent international issues, primarily Afghanistan, as well as European politics.”
Before the meeting, Merkel and Macron are expected to make statements for the press.
According to German media reports, citing sources in the Elysee Palace, in addition to Afghanistan, the sides will touch upon the situation in the Sahel region of Africa, where the French and German military are involved in operations against terrorists. In addition, the topic of the conversation will be the French presidency of the Council of the European Union, upcoming from January next year.
The most recent bilateral meeting between Merkel and Macron took place in June this year on the eve of the EU summit. Then the leaders of the two countries came up with an initiative for a common dialogue for the EU with Russia, but it did not receive unanimous support at the EU summit. Merkel said that the issue would be discussed further.
Merkel’s visit to Paris will take place 10 days before the elections to the Bundestag, after which Germany will have a new chancellor. At the same time, the German cabinet did not announce the upcoming meeting in Paris as the last working visit to France for Merkel as German chancellor. In theory, if the talks on the formation of a ruling coalition in Germany drag on, Merkel will be able to remain in office for a few more months.
(EW correspondent)
