It has not been praised enough: with the invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has emerged for the first time in its history as a leading political power. The Twenty-Seven were able in a few weeks to organize massive deliveries of arms and equipment to kyiv, to adopt eight packages of particularly severe economic and financial sanctions against Russia and to open discussions significant by the voice of Macron, Scholz, and Draghi on June 16 on Ukraine’s status as an immediate candidate for European membership.
The image is beautiful, that of a united Europe, solid and on the front. Suffice to say that seeing this remarkable dynamic give way to a broken down Franco-German locomotive a few months later is not only a shock, but a source of major concern. Once a central element of European construction, here is its engine almost at a standstill. For several weeks, the subjects of dissension between the two countries have focused on two themes: energy and defence.
Energy and defense, the two sticking points
On the energy side, the gas price cap, promoted in particular by France, is considered across the Rhine as an inefficient and even dangerous measure. Conversely, the 200 billion euros in aid granted by the federal government to German companies to offset the increase in energy prices constitute a real distortion of competition.
On the defense side, while war is on Europe’s doorstep, Germany announces the establishment of an anti-missile shield of a more American than European design, showing that its defensive future is taking shape more with NATO than with the EU. By going it alone on the question of energy, Germany pretends to forget the central place occupied by this question at the origins of European construction. By choosing to invest massively in its defense – which is historic – but with a non-European approach, it is in fact sending two contradictory signals. This is a new source of concern and instability for our continent. And a major alert for France.
France must take the initiative
Certainly, this is not the first time that the Franco-German couple has experienced difficulties. Sarkozy in his early days had “forgotten” to warn Merkel when he launched his unfortunate “Union of the Mediterranean” before falling back under the embarrassed gaze of his new friends. Hollande singularly annoyed the Chancellor with her tax increases, while she herself took everyone by surprise on Syrian migrants and the shutdown of nuclear power. But since 1963, the Berlin-Paris axis, whatever our differences may have been, has always held the place of absolute and non-negotiable priority, imposing itself on the economic actors of our two countries, as on the other Member States of the European Union. . Now, for the first time, Germany seems determined to make its own economic interests prevail without nuance. Berlin explains that the energy crisis threatens its strategic interests, and that France is no longer making any effort on the budgetary level, creating an irremediable distortion. All against a backdrop of nationalist feelings that remind history buffs of the (bad) old days…
This brutal degradation commands to react quickly and strongly. First with a great speech in the Bundestag during which the French president would recall with the necessary dramaturgy the three key dates: 1870, 1914, 1940. Just to be sure that no one has the memory that flinch. Then we have to give pledges. Commit to the urgent structural reforms and cuts in public spending that Germany expects of us. Swap this effort with a refocusing of German defense projects on a strategy that makes the Franco-German pillar the absolute priority, like what we have been able to do for Airbus. And finally, putting the energy issue back on the table: sharing our convictions on nuclear power, and developing renewables together. The story that is being written in recent weeks carries very bad vibes. It is up to France to take the initiative to change its course before excessively harmful habits are adopted and today’s leaders on both sides of the Rhine carry a heavy burden for the future. responsibility.