The postponement of the Franco-German Council of Ministers which was scheduled for October 26, a first since the creation of this institution in 2003, is a disturbing political sign, with regard to the Franco-German relationship itself, as the Sources of discord have multiplied recently, but also for the European Union whose advances have long been based on Franco-German initiatives. The chancellor’s visit to Paris on the same day cannot erase this impression.
Admittedly, the moments of tension between France and Germany have always existed. But today, in the context of the war in Ukraine and its consequences, the tension between the two countries presents itself with all the more acuity than the “Franco-German leadership” is disputed within the Union European, among others by the Baltic countries and Poland, whose Prime Minister even speaks of “oligarchy”.
The Franco-German tandem is weakened from the outside, in particular for having maintained in a recent past an too much proximity with Russia. He should not weaken himself from the inside at the risk of imploding and fracturing the European Union. To read the reports of the German press of the European Council of October 21 and 22, we measure that there is urgency as the words with regard to the French president are hard, for trying to isolate the German chancellor thinking Fold it on the question of the price of the price of gas, without achieving it.
On October 21, Die Welt stresses that the French president tried to exploit the idea that in the European Union “Germany as a richest country, with a particular historical responsibility, must be united And not acting independently “and notes that he” must have learned that the “dear olaf” was less impressed than the former chancellor by charm, great gestures and insistence to celebrate Franco- German in a solemn way “.
upset the balances in Europe
But beyond immediate disagreements, it is necessary to grasp the evolution of Germany to understand that it is undoubtedly a deep discomfort which could in more or less long term upset the balances in Europe. The immediate reasons for disagreement are known. They affect two essential subjects: defense and energy.
Common defense projects do not progress, such as the fifth generation plane (SCAF) or the chariot of the future, with in the background of differences between French and German industrialists. The initiative led by Germany, without France, to set up an air shield involving fourteen European Union states, NATO members, based on American and Israeli equipment sowed trouble and irritation In Paris, as it seemed to contravene the idea of European sovereignty, which should be made up of it means the same thing on both sides of the Rhine. However, nothing is less certain.
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