The meeting this Wednesday in Paris between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz resulted in a dialogue ” friendly ” and ” constructive “, announced the two parties, at a time when the relationship between the two countries is weighed down by a multiplication of disagreements.
The meeting, which lasted three hours and ended with a tete-a-tete between Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholzmade it possible to evoke the perspectives towards which Europe wants and must go » and should lead these next few weeks to « a very good and very intensive cooperation “Said a German diplomatic source. For its part, the French presidency also welcomed an exchange ” very constructive », during which the two leaders « evoked the Franco-German relationship in a spirit of very close work in the medium and long term “.
During this meeting, the two leaders notably agreed on the fact that the European Union is faced with “ one of the biggest crises in its history “, which led them to discuss – among other things – the questions of “ security and defense “, the question ” energy with a look at high energy prices and supply Or even innovation, underlined the German diplomatic source.
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These three themes are sources of tension between the two capitals, Paris and Berlin not having the same ideas on the means of fighting against soaring energy prices, for example. ” On these three themes, working groups have been set up which will lead the two governments to work closely in the coming days with a view to the next steps. “, said the Elysee. The two leaders also agreed to exchange “ before and after » an upcoming visit to China by the German Chancellor and a trip to the United States for the French President.
The 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty in sight
“ Between now and the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty, we will work together to be able to converge ” on the “ problems » between France and Germany, declared before the French Senate, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Laurence Boone, referring to defence, energy and geopolitics. The 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty will be celebrated on January 22. This bilateral treaty had sealed the reconciliation between France and Germany after the Second World War and launched cooperation between the two European powers.
The signals of disagreement between Berlin and Paris have multiplied recently. Berlin is promoting an anti-missile shield project, including an Israeli component, which 14 European countries want to join, including the United Kingdom, the Baltic countries, the Netherlands and even Finland. Denouncing a ” arms race Within the continent, Paris remains in the background and defends its own project, with Italy. The future European combat aircraft, the SCAF, a sea serpent between the two countries, is another sticking point, with the risk that the competing British project, Tempest, will get ahead.
(With AFP)