The discussion comes as European powers weigh a greater security role, shaped by Russia’s war in Ukraine and renewed doubts over US commitment to the NATO alliance under President Donald Trump. The underlying dispute is less about whether Europe should rearm than who should control the process: NATO, which defines military requirements, or the EU, which controls industrial tools and financing. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is due in Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday as France and the UK lead discussions on a possible defensive maritime mission in the Strait of Hormuz.