As of: 01/22/2023 9:19 p.m
Actually, 60 years of the Élysée Treaty should be celebrated. But the Franco-German holiday was also overshadowed by the Ukraine war and the question of German tank deliveries.
The anniversary day began in the Pantheon: wreath-laying ceremony at the coffin of Holocaust survivor Simone Veil. “What defines our day is to remember where you come from, to know where you are going,” says Yael Braun-Pivet, President of the National Assembly. “And that’s why the President of the Bundestag also wanted to honor the woman who was also the 1st President of the European Parliament.”
Then the ceremony at the Sorbonne, with the European anthem sung in French and German. After all, according to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, we see ourselves as a driving force in a united Europe. The German opposition is also present and in a cross-party mood to celebrate.
“This friendship has also cracked”, Sabine Rau, ARD Paris, on 60 years of the Élysée contract
tagesschau24 4 p.m., 22.1.2023
The opposition is also diplomatic
Deputy Bundestag leader Petra Pau from the Left Party recalls the Franco-German Council of Ministers, which was postponed in the autumn due to a lack of unity, and advises: “Maybe make a little adjustment in one place or another. It was a bit bumpy, I’ll say carefully, in the autumn. “
CDU opposition leader Friedrich Merz looks ahead: “And I would like it to be the way it should always be between Germany and France today between Germany, France and Poland, that we together with these three countries simply share leadership responsibility for take over Europe.”
And again the tank question
After the ceremony in the morning at the Sorbonne – engine on for the Franco-German convoy of black limousines through Paris. The ministers of both countries are headed towards the Élysée for a joint cabinet meeting. Then Chancellor Scholz and President Emmanuel Macron go to the press. First topic in the ten-page communiqué: security, defense and the Ukraine war.
The second question: do you supply heavy tanks – “Leopard 2” or “Leclercs”? President Macron was almost concrete: “Nothing is impossible. We evaluate this according to three criteria: They must not lead to an escalation of the conflict. They must represent effective help for our Ukrainian friends. We have to train them for this, the technology has to be maintained. And Third, it must not diminish our own ability to defend ourselves.”
Scholz, on the other hand, was evasive: “We will continue to do so in the future, just as we have done in the past, always in close consultation with all our friends and allies, and discussing the specific situation. We have to fear that the war will last a very long time and that’s why it’s important for Ukraine to know: we will not let up in our support.”
Lots of good intentions
There will be maneuvers by the Franco-German Brigade in Lithuania and Romania. It is no coincidence that a high-tech military model is on display in the courtyard of the Élysée Palace: a drone for the FCAS fighter jet project, which Scholz and Macron recently personally pushed again. The drone was built by the Franco-German Airbus Group.
“The drones can wage electronic warfare, jam enemy radar and make the enemy believe they are dealing with a fighter plane and a larger fleet,” says project leader Bruno Fichefeux.
The interior ministers, for their part, have set up a new bilateral brigade to combat illegal immigration. In addition, a future hydrogen pipeline will be extended to Germany. They want to renegotiate the effects of the anti-inflation plan with the USA. France and Germany want to expand the EU to include the Western Balkans and therefore also want to simplify decision-making within the Union.
Both want a green, innovative Europe. A new Franco-German battery research program was launched. It was also a topic throughout the day, the youth, represented in large numbers at the ceremony at the Sorbonne. The Franco-German youth should change the world, it said. Eve, Célia and Julien from the German-French high school in Buc near Paris dressed up for the day: “We are very honored to be able to meet the chancellor and the president. We celebrated the anniversary at the high school all week.”
The chancellor and president are also getting a binational train ticket off the ground for them. This summer, 60,000 young people should be able to travel to the other country by train free of charge. And the governments want to meet more often in the future on a smaller scale with a targeted agenda. Germany will organize the next joint retreat in autumn.