Reuters
France and Germany agreed on Friday to move to the next phase of a project to jointly develop a battle tank by 2040, their defence ministers said, as they seek fresh impetus despite reservations and differences on each side. Berlin and Paris in 2017 agreed to work on a joint fighter jet under French lead, estimated to cost some 100 billion euros in total, and also a Franco-German tank to succeed the German Leopard 2 and the French Leclerc. Both projects have been plagued by disagreements and delays, further straining Franco-German ties burdened by differences over energy topics and over how far Europe should become independent from the U.S. in its security policy.