Merz and Macron Paper Over Divisions and Pledge Economic Action

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron played down their disagreements ahead of a European Union leaders’ retreat meant to jump-start plans to revive the bloc’s economy.

The leaders of Europe’s two largest economies arrived side-by-side on Thursday as they entered a day-long retreat of European Union leaders, held in the centuries-old Alden Biesen castle in eastern Belgium.