Andrew Hammond

G7 trade ministers met in Paris last week for a key meeting focused on enhancing the West’s critical mineral supplies. However, the really big event in this year’s French presidency comes next month, with the leadership meeting hosted by President Emmanuel Macron.

Much pomp and pageantry accompanied the four-day visit by UK King Charles and Queen Camilla to the US. However, beneath all the gloss, the tour may have been one of the most important undertaken by any British monarch since at least the 1950s Suez crisis.

The old adage among travelers and commuters is that one often waits a long time for a bus or train, then two or three arrive at once. Turning to the global landscape, the same appears true of EU trade deals.

The economic and political shock waves from the war on Iran will be felt the most in the Middle East. Outside that region, however, key parts of Europe and Asia are also being significantly affected.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has had a challenging first year in office. However, in the past few days he has faced his toughest foreign policy test yet with key visits to both Washington and Beijing.

The EU is scheduled to announce on Wednesday, after seven postponements, its new “Made in Europe” plan. As much as the package has divided the EU and delayed the announcement, concern has spread much more widely, including to Middle Eastern nations such as Turkiye.