DREAM / The Prime Minister resigns and wakes up under the Parisian bridge!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

Paris facing Berlin's new role in Europe: Will the Franco-German duo be separated?

2022-11-25 19:29:07Fokus SHKRUAR NGA AURON DODI
Paris facing Berlin's new role in Europe: Will the Franco-German duo be
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Berlin, 25.11.2022

The last storm between Paris and Berlin seems to have passed. The tensions speak of the difficulty of Paris to accept a Germany that seeks to act in accordance with its capacities, writes Auron Dodi.

Germany and France have taken significant steps to restore harmony in bilateral relations. The visit on Friday (25.11.) to Berlin of the French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne closed a week of unusual intensity of bilateral visits. Paris was visited this week for various topics by the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, followed by the Minister of Economy, Robert Habeck and then the German Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner. French President Emmanuel Macron offered a special welcome to the three German ministers. This unusual protocol step speaks, among other things, of the need to talk.

In Paris, Foreign Minister Baerbock said that "the (bilateral) differences are not a scandal, but self-evident." And the German Minister of Economy Habeck said that "we know that we come from different perspectives and have different economic traditions, but this is always a starting point for solutions."

French media: will the Franco-German duo split?

France and Germany are currently at odds over many issues affecting Europe. For example, on the energy crisis, where a subsidized EU wholesale price cap is required. France demands that the gas price ceiling be subsidized with EU debt, Germany and some other countries are skeptical of such interventions in the market.

France further blocks a gas pipeline that would also pass through France, which Germany and Spain insistently want.

Finally, France accused Germany that the package that Germany has made available to the German economy, 200 billion euros, damages European competition.

On the military side, at the end of October, France did not join the German-sponsored 15-nation European Sky Shield Initiative, with which Germany provides air defense for Europe.

Furthermore, EU enlargement has caused discomfort in France. Germany is clearly in support of EU enlargement, especially in the East. And France is very reserved about this. France wants to focus on the core of the EU, if possible even on the founding states of the EU.

Easing the EU debt limit rules of the Stability Pact is another area where the two countries have different positions.

Faced with disagreements, President Macron canceled the meeting of the two governments in October. In addition, he decided to make his dissatisfaction with Germany public. In Brussels (20.10.) he declared that Germany is isolated in Europe. But the facts say otherwise.

Germany with more supporters than France on central issues

As for the 200 billion euro fund that Germany is making available if the German economy needs it as a subsidy, France has done the same: it has offered a 170 billion euro fund for the French economy and has set a price ceiling with a fee policy in France. This now seems to be understood, finally, even in Paris.

In terms of military cooperation: Germany was followed by 14 European countries, to which Germany has provided air defense. Whereas France has only one country, Italy, with which it has an agreement on air defense. So Germany is not isolated.

While the expansion with new EU states, especially in the East, is supported by a majority in the EU.

"Germany is criticized by France for almost everything it does"

The latest French criticism of Berlin was met with some surprise even in the French media. Some analysts asked whether Berlin should expect criticism from Paris for everything it does? This is when Germany was faced with existential problems, such as ensuring gas supply after disconnection from Russian supply, as well as defining a new military role for it in Europe.

Some French commentators have even asked whether we are simply dealing with Paris's jealousy of Berlin. If not, at best Macron's criticism of Berlin is a call to pay more attention to Paris. Here communication from Berlin has room to develop.

Early demand in France: Paris abandons ties with Germany

Some French politicians and analysts have been asking Paris not to fixate on Berlin for years. According to them, the Franco-German couple does not actually exist, since Germany does not want it.

Apart from any emotional understanding on the part of the authors, the demand that Paris connect more strongly with other partners than Berlin is, in essence, unrealistic and even naive.

Germany is today the main geopolitical power of Europe. It is also Europe's largest economy. France cooperates reasonably with Germany. Paris's efforts at intensive partnership with Italy, for example, while enthusiastically launched, have not met with long-term success.

On the contrary, it is actually France, which, especially after the reunification of Germany, was afraid that Germany might abandon France for the East. That Germany can turn from the East, with the shift of the EU's center of gravity to the East.

But this is unlikely to happen. The East is important for Germany primarily as a market and today especially for security reasons.

Paris's current tensions with Berlin speak more to Paris's difficulties in accepting a Germany that now seeks to act in accordance with its capacities. The leadership role of Germany is increasingly sought in Europe and the world. Germany is now demonstrating a willingness to play this role visibly. This also applies to the military aspect, where Germany has declared that it will become the leading military power in Europe.

Paris facing Berlin's new role in Europe: Will the Franco-German duo be
Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron, Paris, 26.10.2022. The meeting was not followed by any statement.

Berlin and Paris have always taken time to coordinate

It should be remembered that the cooperation between Berlin and Paris has never intensified immediately after the parliamentary elections. Between Chancellor Schröder and President Chirak, it took even four years for rapprochement, between Chancellor Merkel and Presidents Hollande, Sarkozy and Macron, it also took a lot of time to get into tune.

And the current German government has not completed a year in power. The leaders' personalities also play a role in the pace of rapprochement: President Macron talks a lot and expresses himself about almost everything, Chancellor Scholz is more reserved and silent.

The current geopolitical situation, the war in Ukraine and Europe, however, puts pressure on both sides for understanding. Without the Berlin-Paris agreement, nothing important happens in Europe.

That is why we are working with great energy to hold the canceled meeting between the two governments on January 22. This symbolic date marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Elysee. Only 18 years after the Second World War this Treaty became the great agreement of reconciliation between the sworn enemies, France and Germany. By January 22, it is intended to have clarified the disputes on energy and defense.

Three months to overcome major differences

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz signed a joint declaration on energy solidarity on Friday (25.11.). France's electricity supply will be further enhanced by deliveries from Germany. France, for its part, has been supplying gas to Germany since mid-October.

On the military side, a political agreement has already been reached. It concerns the launch of the next stage of development of the "sixth generation" fighter jet. This means that it has been decided to build a demonstrator aircraft, of crucial importance for the SCAF project "Air Combat System of the Future". But the agreement between the industrialists, Dassault Aviation for France and Airbus for Germany, is still expected to be reached, probably soon.

Also, on Tuesday, German Economy Minister Habeck and French counterpart Bruno Le Maire agreed to increase cooperation in technology of strategic importance.

For example. in hydrogen technology, in the production of battery cells, and in the health industry. As well as for a new European platform for transformative technologies. The ministers spoke of a "first step towards a new Franco-German partnership" "to advance European industrial policy"./ DW


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×