France and Germany agree to deepen defense cooperation

Shared priorities of the two countries

France and Germany must deepen their defense cooperation and strengthen Europe's ability to ensure its own security — with this statement, the defense ministers of the two countries spoke at the 14th session of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly, Anadolu reports. As key areas of joint work, they named satellite early warning systems and long-range precision weapons.

Pistorius: 'Europe at a major turning point'

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the war in Ukraine has shaken the familiar order and peace in Europe and underscored the need for the countries of the continent to take greater responsibility for their own defense. 'Europe is facing a major turning point. The war in Ukraine has shaken the order and peace as we knew it. We must take on greater responsibility and greater control over our own security. France and Germany play an essential role here,' Anadolu quotes him as saying. According to him, the common goal is interoperable forces with the necessary capabilities and a stronger European defense industry. He also stressed that the countries will continue their strategic dialogue while preserving national sovereignty and developing a new deterrence strategy: 'European sovereignty and capabilities do not exclude each other.' Pistorius added that the two countries together support Ukraine within NATO and the EU, as well as in the 'Group of Five' format they initiated.

Lecornu's counterpart Lecornu? No — Lecornu is not here. Vautrin: no country can ensure security alone

French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin stated that no country can ensure its security alone in a world undergoing rearmament, and emphasized the need for European security built through the cooperation of sovereign states. According to her, advanced deterrence requires reliable conventional backing, which must be translated into concrete operational capabilities — early warning, ground-based air defense, and deep strikes. 'These critical capabilities determine our credibility and our strategic autonomy,' she noted.

Financing and industry

Vautrin called for strengthening Europe's defense industrial and technological base and proposed that countries assess what their defense industries can deliver, within what timeframes, at what level of performance, and at what price. She advocated for European funding to primarily support European suppliers: 'If these funds mostly go to procurement outside Europe, we will continue to sustain the very dependencies we are trying to free ourselves from.' As examples of Franco-German industrial partnership, she cited France's choice of the German HK416 assault rifle and joint work on the Ariane 6 space rocket.