Merz and Meloni sign agreement to boost defence cooperation

Germany and Italy are set to expand defence and economic cooperation, including by ramping up collaboration on arms production and conducting more joint military exercises, according to an agreement signed by the two country's leaders in Rome on Friday.

As agreed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Berlin and Rome are to join forces in the production of drones, naval vessels, underwater systems and air and missile defence systems.

They also aim to deepen collaboration on the development of electronic warfare and air-combat systems.

Merz and Meloni also signed a new version of a 2023 action plan on cooperation in areas ranging from internal security matters to migration and cultural heritage.

Germany is seeking closer relations with Italy at a time when ties with traditional ally France are a little strained.

Late last year, Berlin and Paris postponed a decision on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a joint European air-defence initiative, indefinitely.

If realized, FCAS would be the largest and most expensive European armaments project. In addition to Germany and France, Spain also wants to participate.

The decision on implementation was originally supposed to be made by the end of August, but was then postponed until the end of the year, mainly due to differences over the share of the project held by the aviation firms Dassault, Airbus and Indra.

Meanwhile, France also opposes an EU free trade deal with four South American countries, which was signed last week. Italy, on the other hand, eventually backed the agreement after changes were made to better safeguard the interests of EU farmers.

In light of a special EU summit on competitiveness scheduled for February 12, Germany and Italy have drawn up proposals to strengthen the EU single market, shorten approval procedures and repeal legislation.

In the past, such initiatives were often jointly put forward by Germany and France, long regarded as Europe's twin engines.