Lower Saxony's State Premier Olaf Lies speaks during the German National Maritime Conference in Emden, northern Germany, on April 29, 2026. The National Maritime Conference (NMK) is the Federal Government's central event for supporting the maritime industry, attended by around 800 representatives from business, politics and science, and has established itself as a driver of new ideas and a platform for exchange. It has been held every two years since 2000. (Photo by FOCKE STRANGMANN / AFP via Getty Images)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during the German National Maritime Conference in Emden, northern Germany, on April 29, 2026. The National Maritime Conference (NMK) is the Federal Government's central event for supporting the maritime industry, attended by around 800 representatives from business, politics and science, and has established itself as a driver of new ideas and a platform for exchange. It has been held every two years since 2000. (Photo by FOCKE STRANGMANN / AFP via Getty Images)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during the German National Maritime Conference in Emden, northern Germany, on April 29, 2026. The National Maritime Conference (NMK) is the Federal Government's central event for supporting the maritime industry, attended by around 800 representatives from business, politics and science, and has established itself as a driver of new ideas and a platform for exchange. It has been held every two years since 2000. (Photo by FOCKE STRANGMANN / AFP via Getty Images)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during the German National Maritime Conference in Emden, northern Germany, on April 29, 2026. The National Maritime Conference (NMK) is the Federal Government's central event for supporting the maritime industry, attended by around 800 representatives from business, politics and science, and has established itself as a driver of new ideas and a platform for exchange. It has been held every two years since 2000. (Photo by FOCKE STRANGMANN / AFP via Getty Images)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during the German National Maritime Conference in Emden, northern Germany, on April 29, 2026. The National Maritime Conference (NMK) is the Federal Government's central event for supporting the maritime industry, attended by around 800 representatives from business, politics and science, and has established itself as a driver of new ideas and a platform for exchange. It has been held every two years since 2000. (Photo by FOCKE STRANGMANN / AFP via Getty Images)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during the German National Maritime Conference in Emden, northern Germany, on April 29, 2026. The National Maritime Conference (NMK) is the Federal Government's central event for supporting the maritime industry, attended by around 800 representatives from business, politics and science, and has established itself as a driver of new ideas and a platform for exchange. It has been held every two years since 2000. (Photo by FOCKE STRANGMANN / AFP via Getty Images)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during the German National Maritime Conference in Emden, northern Germany, on April 29, 2026. The National Maritime Conference (NMK) is the Federal Government's central event for supporting the maritime industry, attended by around 800 representatives from business, politics and science, and has established itself as a driver of new ideas and a platform for exchange. It has been held every two years since 2000. (Photo by FOCKE STRANGMANN / AFP via Getty Images)

(FILES) Chairman and CEO of the CNRS Antoine Petit arrives at the Elysee Palace to attend the "Accelerating Our Re-industrialisation" meeting gathering business leaders, associations, community and government representatives at the Elysee presidential Palace in Paris, on May 11, 2023. CNRS CEO Antoine Petit lamented on Wednesday a budgetary situation "that is going to become extremely complicated" due to expenses not covered by the government, warning of the consequences of underinvestment in science. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP via Getty Images)