Scholz visits Macron – Germany-France: Jubilee should serve as a rapprochement – News


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Both countries want to use the celebrations of 60 years of the Élysée Treaty to move closer together again.

What is beeing celebrated? The Élysée Treaty was signed 60 years ago to reconcile the two former wartime enemies. To this day, it is considered the basis for Franco-German friendship. Both countries want to use the anniversary celebrations in Paris to move closer together again.

How and when do you celebrate? The German and French cabinets meet in Paris for joint consultations. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty, the special closeness of both countries is to be underlined. The ceremony of the two parliaments has already taken place in the renowned Sorbonne University, in which the governments are also taking part.

Legend:

Working on the somewhat cooled relationship between Germany and France: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Keystone/AP/Christophe Ena

From 7 p.m., French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will have dinner together.

Scholz says “Thank you”


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At the ceremony, Scholz thanked France for his friendship. “Thank you, Mr. President – thank you from the bottom of my heart,” said the German Chancellor in French to Macron. He also said to the French: “Thank you, our French brothers and sisters, for your friendship.” Scholz stressed the need for a sovereign Europe for which both countries worked together. “By joining forces where the nation states have lost their assertiveness on their own – in safeguarding our values ​​in the world, in protecting our democracy against authoritarian forces. But also in the competition for modern technologies, in securing raw materials, in energy supply or in space travel,” he said.

What is the goal? A joint statement is to be drawn up and published under the leadership of Macron and Scholz. Information on this will be given at the joint press conference at 5 p.m. It is also awaited with great interest by the EU partners, because in the past EU policy has repeatedly been guided by Franco-German considerations.

Scholz & Macron: Even more leadership power for the EU


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In a joint article for the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” and the “Journal du Dimanche”, Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron wrote that they wanted to make the EU an “even stronger leader of hope”. “60 years after the signing of the Élysée Treaty, Germany and France are in agreement when they look at the fundamental questions about the future of Europe.”

What will be the topic? At the subsequent joint cabinet meeting, the topics of economy and energy, security and defense and Europe are on the agenda. The consultations will also deal with further support for Ukraine in its defense against the Russian attackers.

Differences regarding the Ukraine war


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Scholz is being pushed by Ukraine and several allies to clear the way for deliveries of Leopard 2 main battle tanks. Because these tanks are produced in Germany, the federal government has a right of veto if they are passed on from other countries. So you play a key role, but Scholz has not yet decided. It is also unclear whether France wants to send its Leclerc main battle tank to Ukraine.

The coordination of arms deliveries to Ukraine has not gone well between the two governments recently. In early January, Macron pushed ahead with the decision on reconnaissance and armored personnel carriers and announced it a day before Scholz and US President Joe Biden.

But there was already Franco-German resentment when dealing with the consequences of the Ukraine war: last fall, France was displeased with German resistance to a European gas price cap and the federal government’s 200 billion program to cushion high energy costs. At the time, Macron accused Germany of isolating itself in Europe.

The economic part of the consultations will now deal, among other things, with cooperation in the energy sector, in which both countries help each other with deliveries, and with the switch to a more climate-friendly economic system. In addition, dealing with the US inflation control law, which envisages billions in investments in climate protection, should take up a lot of space. However, subsidies and tax credits are linked to companies using US products or producing them themselves in the USA, which is why people in Europe fear disadvantages for domestic companies. “We will be firmly committed to an ambitious strategy to boost the competitiveness of European industry and to a European environment that stimulates competition and innovation,” Scholz and Macron wrote in their joint newspaper article.

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