Macron, Merkel meet to recall victims of EU war
The leaders of France and Germany meet in Berlin on Sunday to jointly remember the victims of European wars, presenting also a united front in countering global turmoil stoked by the mercurial US President Donald Trump.
President Emmanuel Macron will visit France's former enemy turned key EU partner from 1000 GMT (6pm Singapore time) for a wreath-laying ceremony on its Day of Mourning for victims of war and tyranny, a parliamentary address and talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Macron and Merkel are both committed pro-Europeans and internationalists who have resisted rising populist, euro-sceptic and anti-immigration forces in Europe and Trump's isolationist 'America First' stance.
During their second meeting in a week, the pair will likely delve deeper into the idea of a future European army, a proposal that has raised Trump's hackles.
As the world has remembered World War I, which ended a century ago this month, Macron has repeatedly invoked its horrors to drive home his message that rising nationalism around the globe is again destabilizing the world. He has suggested building a future European army as a symbol of a united continent.
The proposal has been backed by Merkel although Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday said France and Germany were jumping the gun, asserting that the continent's safety could be guaranteed only through NATO.
On Tuesday the US leader mocked both European powers by tweeting that "it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France?" and adding that "they were starting to learn German in Paris before the US came along".
A week after world leaders attended the Armistice centenary events in Paris, Merkel and Macron are also due to meet again one-on-one to resume their dialogue on ways to boost the EU.Since their joint cabinet meeting on Europe in June, challenges have piled up, with Brexit nearing and a budget conflict escalating between Brussels and Italy.
