Macron and Merkel try to showcase EU unity as Brexit looms

Macron and Merkel try to showcase EU unity as Brexit loomsGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for a news conference with the Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, after a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for a news conference with the Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, after a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are meeting in southern France, one day before a key EU summit that may approve a divorce deal with Britain.

The leaders on Wednesday will first visit Airbus headquarters

The leaders on Wednesday will first visit Airbus headquarters, as a symbol of European industrial cooperation, before holding bilateral talks and a French-German Cabinet meeting in the city of Toulouse. Macron and Merkel will discuss Brexit as EU and British officials scramble to make a deal before Thursday’s summit in Brussels the last before the U.K’s scheduled departure from the EU on Oct. 31.The French and German delegations, including key ministers from both governments, will also discuss global trade tensions, the fight against climate change, European defense projects and how to defend EU copyright rules, Macron’s office said.