New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to reset ties between their nations and join forces to help strengthen the European Union’s defensive capabilities and competitiveness.

“As we face war on our continent, fierce global competition, accelerating climate and technological change, and threats of a global trade war, we have agreed on a comprehensive agenda to relaunch our relationship,” the two leaders wrote in a joint article for Le Figaro newspaper.

“We will make the most of Franco-German coordination and instincts to make Europe more sovereign, with an emphasis on security, competitiveness, and convergence,” they added. The article was published to coincide with Merz’s visit to Paris on Wednesday.

By making the symbolic choice of France for his first foreign trip, Merz is seeking to follow through quickly on a pledge to revitalize a Franco-German relationship he sees as vital for his bid to strengthen the E.U.’s hand in areas like trade and defense.

The conservative leader’s Social Democrat predecessor, Olaf Scholz, failed to find much common ground with Macron on key tenets of European policy and both were severely weakened by domestic setbacks last year, depriving the E.U. of the dynamic leadership it needed at a time of geopolitical upheaval.

Merz has faced his own struggles, needing an unprecedented second vote to secure parliamentary confirmation as chancellor on Tuesday, a shock reverse that highlighted the fragility of the coalition’s Bundestag majority and raised doubts about his authority.

He brushed off the debacle in a series of television interviews on Tuesday evening, in which he also promised to make European policy a main focus of his tenure.

“The world is in such disarray that a German chancellor must look after foreign policy and European policy much more than in the past,” Merz told public broadcaster ARD.

In recent weeks, Merz has underlined his commitment to Europe, promising to strengthen the continent’s military capabilities within NATO, foster joint procurement projects and ramp up production of military equipment.

“I know that many of you expect more German leadership than we have seen in the past, both on the E.U. and international level,” Merz told fellow conservatives at a European People’s Party congress in Valencia last month. “We will and we have to invest a lot more energy into moving Europe forward.”

After his lunch with Macron, Merz is heading to Warsaw later on Wednesday for talks with his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, and the issue of irregular migration will be high on the agenda, along with Russia’s war on Ukraine and defense.

Merz and his CDU/CSU allies have promised immediate action to prevent people coming to Germany illegally, part of an effort to check the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany.

The anti-immigrant party, which came second in February’s national election, is leading in some polls ahead of Merz’s bloc and the SPD in third place.

Germany’s new interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, is expected to announce a further tightening of border controls later on Wednesday. The previous government already stepped up policing and spot checks on the Germany’s frontiers last year.

Some E.U. officials, including in Poland, have expressed concern such measures will hamper freight traffic and compromise freedom of movement in the 27-nation bloc.

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—With assistance from Piotr Skolimowski and Richard Bravo.

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