Laschet on Macron talks, Afghanistan, terror

Armin Laschet, Angela Merkel's would-be successor as German Chancellor, called for a strengthening of European sovereignty and the creation of a "European FBI" at a press conference in Paris following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday.

Laschet, the candidate of Merkel's Union bloc for this month's German election, said foreign policy was a "big part" of his discussions with Macron, particularly with regards to extremism and Afghanistan.

"We need to strengthen our European sovereignty. We must also be able to act as Europeans in case the United States cannot act," he said.

He also called for the creation of a "European initiative for a European FBI", highlighting that the Islamic State attackers who carried out coordinated attacks on the French capital in 2015 came from Brussels and traveled through Germany.

Earlier on Wednesday, Laschet paid tribute to the victims of the attacks as a long-awaited trial opened in the city.

He laid a single white rose at a memorial to the victims outside the Bataclan concert hall ahead of the meeting with Macron.

Laschet's trip to France comes days after German Social Democratic Party candidate Olaf Scholz's visit, during which he met with Macron.

Germany's parliamentary election takes place on September 26 and will determine who succeeds Merkel.

Recent polls have shown Merkel's center-right Christan Democratic Union's prospects slipping into second place, while the center-left Social Democrats have taken the lead thanks to the relative popularity of Scholz, also Germany's finance minister.

IMAGE: AP