'Germany would never...': Merz dodges explosive question on Macron leak, fuels EU-US rift buzz French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition partner Friedrich Merz are locked in an increasingly tense debate over the EU’s security future, economic posture, and long-term stance on the Ukraine conflict. The story examines Macron’s push for European “strategic autonomy,” Merz’s warnings about overstretching defense ambitions, and the broader divide shaping the contin