| Author (Person) | Thomson, Ian |
|---|---|
| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning |
| Series Title | In Focus |
| Series Details | 11.6.00 |
| Publication Date | 11/06/2000 |
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus |
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Led by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, French President Jacques Chirac and French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, France and Germany held their 75th bi-annual summit meeting in the German city of Mainz on Friday 9 June 2000. Whilst a range of subjects were discussed, forging an agreed strategy on the issues being discussed at the current Intergovernmental Conference, which is due to be completed in Nice in December 2000 at the end of the French EU Presidency, was high on the agenda. Background The relationship between France and Germany has been an important dimension in the development of the current European integration process for many years. Many commentators have portrayed France and Germany working together as the motor or engine of European integration. For example, the French Ambassador to the United States in 1997 said in a speech to Harvard University:
Reconciliation between these two countries following the Second World War was a key priority. Quoting from the speech again:
Reconciliation has largely been achieved, helped considerably by good personal relations between political leaders at key times such as Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer, Giscard d'Estaing and Helmut Schmidt, and François Mitterand and Helmut Kohl. The setting up in 1952 of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which involved the establishment of common institutions and policies to redevelop the coal and iron and steel industries of France and Germany (along with Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Italy), was seen as being of both practical and symbolic significance. Both countries went on to join the European Economic Community and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. In January 1963 France and Germany signed the Treaty of the Elysée, which defined its objective as 'the strenghthening of the cooperation between the two countries as an indispensable step on the way towards a united Europe'. From the very beginning Franco-German cooperation was seen as having both a bilateral and European dimension. On a bilateral level, regular and formal contact is maintained between the heads of state and government, and between many government ministries coverning policy coordination of economic and fiscal issues, foreign and defence issues, the environment, culture, education and youth. At a citizens' level a substantial series of twinning and exchange projects take place, in particular involving children. At a European level many of the steps forward in the European project have occurred, at least partially, due to a Franco-German initiative. Examples often quoted included: - the establishment of the European Council - direct elections to the European Parliament - the setting up of the European Monetary System - aspects of the Single Act of 1986 - aspects of the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 - the commitment to the creation of the European Monetary Union Equally, it is said that no major European initiative is agreed without the backing of the two countries. For further information on Franco-German cooperation see the information contained in Fraud . For detailed information in German or French on Franco-German co-operation, including the text of all key agreements since 1963, see the websites of the Deutsch-Französisches Netzwerk or Réseau franco-allemand . The current status of Franco-German relations Over the years France and Germany have not agreed on all issues, while changes of personalities in key positions have also, at times, meant a cooling of relations. The warmth of the Mitterand-Kohl relationship is sometimes contrasted with the Chirac-Kohl period, when tensions appeared on certain issues, such as who was to head the European Central Bank. Similarly, the arrival of the new SPD government under Gerhard Schröder in 1998 has led to some suggestions that the power and influence of the Franco-German axis within the EU will change (see some of the European Voice articles below). One of the areas of tension during the early months of Chancellor Schröder's office was his desire to ensure that German interests in the EU on such issues as budget contributions and the Agenda 2000 negotiations were more strongly articulated. Ideologically, Chancellor Schröder was also seen to be closer to Tony Blair's 'Third Way' than to Lionel Jospin's more traditional socialist thinking. However, it would be wrong to suggest that the close relationship has come to an end: the intensive contacts between governments, ministries, organisations and citizens have been maintained. After most of the biannual summits of the leaders of the two countries statements are issued re-emphasising the effectiveness and sustainability of relations. This seems to be the outcome of the latest bilateral summit in Mainz on 9 June 2000, despite some rumblings over the previous weeks following from a controversial speech by the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer 'From Confederacy to Federation - Thoughts on the finality of European integration', at the Humboldt University in Berlin, 12 May 2000. While touching upon the current challenges facing the EU and its Member States (enlargement and the EU's institutional capacity to act), Mr Fischer went on to present, in a personal capacity, his more visionary views on the 'finality' of European integration, and how it could be achieved. He advocated 'the transition from a union of states to full parliamentarisation as a European Federation', with a European Parliament and European government which exercises real legislative and executive power. He also said that the completion of European integration would depend on Franco-German co-operation. French reactions to his speech were mixed. The official public reaction can be gleaned from various interviews given by the Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine and Minister of European Affairs Pierre Moscovici, welcoming the relaunching of the debate on the future of Europe. Nevertheless, commentators suggested that the French authorities, preparing to take on the EU Presidency in July 2000 and hoping to lead the discussions on the Intergovernmental Conference to a conclusion in Nice in December 2000, were not pleased by the radical nature of the speech of Mr Fischer. In addition, there were comments made by French Interior Minister, Jean-Pierre Chevenement, who said on 21 May 2000 that 'Germany still dreams of the Holy Roman Empire - it has still not recovered from the derailment in its history that was Nazism'. He later apologised for his remarks. In a speech given by President Chirac on 30 May 2000 on European security and defence issues he was critical of talk about a federal Europe. He said it was 'pointless to come up with an abstract definition of political Europe'. Nevertheless, at the Franco-German summit on 9 June 2000 he was said to have praised Mr Fischer's speech. At the meeting the two countries said they were in broad agreement on the nature of the reforms needed in the European Union to prepare for its enlargement - and currently being discussed at the Intergovernmental Conference. President Chirac said that 'the Franco-German motor is running well' and that 'when it has to, the alliance of France and Germany works immaculately'. Chancellor Schröder said 'On the substantive issues . . . Germany and France are as one, without exception'. No formal statement was released on precisely what the two countries had agreed to call for in the IGC negotiations. On other issues the two countries agreed to host a Balkan conference to show that Franco-German cooperation could be a model for the former Yugoslav Republics. The two countries will develop a European spy satellite system and a European military transport plane. Further information within European Sources Online: The Penguin Companion to European Union (Penguin, 1998): European Sources Online: European Voice Further information can be seen in these external links: France: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: France in Europe France: Embassy in London: France on the future of Europe France: Embassy in Washington, DC: The Franco-German relationship: an opportunity for the transatlantic partnership (Speech by French Ambassador to the Center for European Studies, Harvard University, 14.4.97) France: Embassy in Washington, DC: The French-German relations, Europe and the Transatlantic Partnership (Speech by Mr. François Bujon de l'Estang, French Ambassador to the United States at a Joint Conference with the French and German Ambassadors, France: Embassy in Washington, DC: Franco-German Summit Defence and Security Council, 'Toulouse Declaration', Toulouse, 29.5.99 Germany: Embassy in London: The fundamentals of German foreign policy (speech by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, Berlin, 24.11.99) Germany: Embassy in London: 'From Confederacy to Federation - Thoughts on the finality of European integration' (speech by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, Berlin, 12.5.00) Germany: Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt): IGC 2000: Policy document of the Federal Republic of Germany on the Intergovernmental Conference on institutional reform [pdf] (Paper submitted to the IGC, March 2000) Germany: Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt): Deutsch-Französischer Gipfel in Mainz, 09.06.2000 (in German) American Institute for Contemporary German Studies: Franco-German relations and European integration (Summary of a conference held in 1999) American Institute for Contemporary German Studies: Prospects for Franco-German Relations after the German Elections: New Look or New Deal? (Ulrike Guerot, Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University, 1998) Western European Union: Institute for Security Studies: The special Franco-German security relationship in the 1990s (1993) European University Institute: The Hard Core: The Franco-German Relationship and Agricultural Crisis Politics in the European Union (EUI Working Paper RSC No.98/46) European Commission: Intergovernmental Conference 2000 BBC News Further and subsequent information on the subject of this week's In Focus can be found by an 'Advanced Search' in European Sources Online by inserting 'France and Germany and European Union' in the keyword field. Ian Thomson Led by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, French President Jacques Chirac and French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, France and Germany held their 75th bi-annual summit meeting in the German city of Mainz on Friday 9 June 2000. |
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| Countries / Regions | France, Germany |
