It was a bilateral meeting eagerly awaited by the two leaders, especially by the Socialist Pedro Sanchez who received in Madrid the Social Democratic leader Olaf Scholz, at the helm of Germany since December 8th. The two men, who already know each other well, have mostly found common ground.
With our correspondent in Madrid, Francois Musseau
First, there was an urgent message from the two leaders: to strongly invite Russia to a de-escalation of the tension with its neighbor Ukraine, on the border, where military movements are currently taking place. The integrity of nations is a fundamental and untouchable value, insisted Pedro Sanchez who has not stopped repeating it since the Catalan separatists have been calling for secession.
The Berlin-Madrid axis
In general, the two leaders abounded in the same direction. They highlighted the Berlin-Madrid axis, the only cities, the only countries where social democracy is in power. Olaf Scholz and Pedro Sanchez therefore jointly defended social Europe, the importance of European funds to compensate the health crisis. The Chancellor also praised Spain for the success of its vaccination campaign.
Only problem, the stability pact
The only problem between the two allies is the stability pact, which requires the budget deficit to be below 3% and the public debt below 60% of GDP. However, if Germany fulfills these conditions, this is not the case for spain with a debt of 122% of GDP and a barely controlled deficit. Madrid are calling for greater flexibility, but Berlin, for now, is only talking about rigor and discipline.
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