Berlin announces the end of the Franco-German FCAS fighter jet project

The joint fighter jet project that France and Germany have been pursuing since 2017 has no future. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has advised Emmanuel Macron to abandon plans for a joint aircraft, as both leaders agree that manufacturers in the two countries are unable to work together. They now admit this reality, although it is not certain that Paris draws the same conclusions.

In the French capital, the uncoordinated communication from Berlin has come as a surprise. For Paris, it is up to politicians to set clear guidelines for industry, and the FCAS remains an important joint project for strengthening European defence. “The FCAS will not fail because of Paris,” the French side argues, where there is irritation at Berlin’s increasing preference for national solutions, such as the Bundeswehr’s military cloud.

Launched by Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, the programme was a response to Donald Trump’s first election and fears of a Europe left to its own devices. The aircraft, scheduled for 2040, was notably intended to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads. In February, Mr Merz had pointed to poorly defined specifications and very different requirements, with France wanting an aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons and operating from an aircraft carrier – something the German military does not currently need. In Germany, the French manufacturer Dassault was also criticised for refusing to relinquish its lead role.

The “core” of the FCAS is, however, set to continue in the form of a European system of systems, with a combat cloud linking aircraft and drones. This month, the defence ministries of both countries are due to draw up a joint work plan, focusing on a few projects deemed realistic. The German aerospace industry, which advocates for two separate aircraft tailored to each country’s needs, makes no secret of its relief as the ILA airshow approaches, where Berlin will present its aerospace strategy on Wednesday. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

🇷🇺 Russia - 🇺🇦 Ukraine • Russia has announced that it intercepted 376 Ukrainian drones overnight, including a wave targeting Saint Petersburg as the International Economic Forum drew to a close. Vladimir Putin rejected Volodymyr Zelensky’s offer of a one-on-one meeting to negotiate peace, deeming the proposal insincere. A Russian drone also struck a building at the spent nuclear fuel storage site near Chernobyl, without causing a rise in radiation levels, a development that has concerned the International Atomic Energy Agency. Russian shelling has left at least five people dead, notably in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. In London, Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz in the E3 format, calling for a strengthening of air defences and a role for Europe in the negotiations.

🇫🇷 France - 🇱🇻 Latvia • A French fighter jet from the NATO air policing mission, based in Siauliai, Lithuania, shot down a drone that had entered Latvian airspace from Russia, according to the Latvian military. Residents in the east of the country had been urged to take shelter before the all-clear was given; no damage was reported. On the same day, another drone of unknown origin was detected in Moldova, near the Ukrainian border.

🇦🇲 Armenia • Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections with 49.8% of the vote, ahead of the pro-Russian Strong Armenia party (23.3%), consolidating the country’s pivot towards the West. Claiming a “historic victory”, the leader promised to continue the rapprochement with Europe whilst maintaining ties with Moscow. Russia condemned the “interference” of the European Union and pressure on the opposition, whilst OSCE observers noted foreign pressure and arrests targeting opposition figures. However, the party did not secure the overwhelming majority needed to amend the Constitution, a condition set by Azerbaijan for a peace agreement.

🇽🇰 Kosovo • Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Vetëvendosje party came out on top in the snap parliamentary elections with 43% of the vote, but without the majority needed to govern alone or elect a president. These third elections in 18 months, marked by a turnout that fell to 37%, are unlikely to end the political deadlock paralysing Europe’s youngest and poorest country, and which is holding back its rapprochement with the European Union. Albin Kurti has called on the other parties to cooperate.

🇬🇷 Greece • Several earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 4.3 to 5.2 were felt on the island of Euboea, north-east of Athens, as well as in the capital, without causing any injuries. The authorities reported a few minor landslides and slight damage to houses. Seismic activity is considered normal in the north of the island.

🇮🇷 Iran - 🇮🇱 Israel - 🇱🇧 Lebanon • Iran announced on Monday that it was suspending its military operation against Israel, following a message from Donald Trump urging both countries to cease their attacks “immediately”. Since Sunday evening, Tehran had fired around 30 missiles in retaliation for an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, which killed two people and injured 20. These exchanges, the first since the April truce, occurred on the 100th day of the war. Israel struck Tehran, Tabriz and Isfahan, whilst Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for an attack and imposed a ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea. In Lebanon, the Israeli army also pounded Tyre, with its strikes having killed 3,613 people in the country since the start of the conflict. Oil prices have started to rise again.

🇵🇸 Palestine • Israeli strikes on a Hamas police station and a vehicle left at least nine people dead and 20 wounded in Gaza, as mediators resumed talks in Cairo with Hamas and other factions to preserve a fragile ceasefire. Since the October truce, Israeli strikes have killed more than 950 Palestinians and Palestinian attacks have claimed the lives of four Israeli soldiers. The fate of the approximately 10,000 Hamas police officers remains a sticking point in the plan backed by Washington. In the West Bank, Israeli forces killed a seven-month-old Palestinian baby and wounded his parents near Hebron, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced. A bullet struck the child as the family were travelling by car near a checkpoint. The Israeli army, which claims to have fired at a vehicle speeding towards its soldiers, concluded that they were “uninvolved civilians” and has launched an investigation.

🇫🇷 France - 🇮🇱 Israel • Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has expressed support for new sanctions to protest against the intensification of settlement activity and the surge in violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. France is working with several countries on coordinated measures, including asset freezes and travel bans, following the third round of sanctions adopted by the European Union on 28 May.

🇵🇭 Philippines • A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the island of Mindanao in the south of the country, killing at least 35 people, leaving a dozen missing and injuring more than 130. The quake, which struck on the morning of the first day of the new school term, caused buildings to collapse and triggered landslides, with schoolchildren witnessing parts of their school crumble. Tsunami warnings issued for the Philippines, Indonesia and other coastal areas were subsequently lifted. The death toll could rise.

🇨🇳 China - 🇰🇵 North Korea • On a visit to Pyongyang, his first in seven years, Xi Jinping pledged “unwavering” support to Kim Jong Un and said he wanted to take relations between the two countries to “new heights”. Welcomed with great pomp and ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square, the Chinese president called for the strengthening of diplomatic, economic and military ties, whilst North Korea is also drawing closer to Russia. The day before, the leader’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, had stated that North Korea’s nuclear programme had reached a “point of no return”, ruling out any abandonment of nuclear weapons.

🇰🇷 South Korea • President Lee Jae Myung has appointed Han Seongsook, previously Minister for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Start-ups, as Prime Minister. She becomes the first woman to lead the South Korean government in 20 years.

🇨🇩 DR Congo - 🇺🇬 Uganda • The Ebola outbreak is spreading in Central Africa, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo reporting 515 confirmed cases and 91 deaths, and neighbouring Uganda reporting 19 cases, including two deaths. During a visit to Kampala, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Uganda’s strategy, which includes the cancellation of Martyrs’ Day celebrations, and a case fatality rate of less than 1%. The WHO and the African Union’s health agency have launched a $518 million plan. There is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain in question, and the United Arab Emirates has restricted arrivals from affected countries.

🇿🇦 South Africa • Malaria is spreading in southern Africa due to climate change, which is intensifying existing outbreaks and extending transmission periods. Cases quadrupled in January in the South African province of Mpumalanga, jeopardising the goal of eliminating the disease by 2029. Namibia and Mozambique, hit by floods, have also recorded sharp increases. The disease kills more than 250,000 people worldwide every year.

🇺🇸 United States - 🇲🇺 Mauritius - 🇬🇧 United Kingdom • The White House is reportedly considering a plan to buy the Chagos Islands from Mauritius in order to take control of Diego Garcia, which is home to a US-British military base, reports The Telegraph. The plan is said to be aimed at bypassing London, which suspended its agreement to return the archipelago to Mauritius in April. In 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled that the UK was illegally occupying these islands.

🇧🇴 Bolivia • President Rodrigo Paz has received the green light from Parliament to deploy the army to clear the roadblocks that have paralysed the country for five weeks. Farmers, miners and transport workers are calling for his resignation against the backdrop of a severe economic crisis, causing shortages of food, medicines and fuel in La Paz and El Alto. Clashes in San Julian have left around 20 people injured. The centre-right head of state is considering declaring a state of emergency.