Franco-German alliance shows signs of tension

Date: 23/01/1997

By Rory Watson

RENEWED doubts surround the health of the Franco-German alliance despite conscious efforts this week to present a united front in negotiations on EU reform.

Severely buffeted in recent weeks by visible tensions between Paris and Bonn over the mechanics of a single currency, the traditional motor of European integration has come under increasing strain as governments negotiate the fine print of treaty reform.

“If the Franco-German motor goes out of sync, we are all in trouble. But it is not what it used to be. It is not enough now to go to the French and Germans and ask them if a certain idea will fly or not. It has become much more complicated,” said one diplomat.

Confidence in the ability of the two governments to chart a clear course for the Union has been undermined by a series of factors. The most salient was the death of former French President François Mitterrand and the failure of his successor Jacques Chirac to exert the same degree of political influence.

A deliberate attempt earlier this week to project Franco-German harmony has merely fuelled further speculation about the strength of the alliance.

The idea of a joint press conference in Brussels to present a unified Intergovernmental Conference stance was put to German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel by his French colleague Hervé de Charette and supported by the Dutch EU presidency.

“It was designed to show that the two countries were very much together. But it was merely symbolic. There was nothing new. On flexibility, in particular, they were still unable to answer fundamental questions which were first asked back in October. Perhaps it was precisely because the partnership is not working so well that they felt the need to meet the media together,” suggested one senior official.

Dutch Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo warmly welcomed the initiative, saying afterwards: “I love the idea that France and the Germans are playing the role of engine.”

But it was more critically received by public opinion in the Netherlands and Denmark, where sensitivities about both large countries are never far below the surface.

“The question is are we being presented with a fait accompli or with something which we can negotiate among equals,” said one Scandinavian diplomat.

As negotiations between foreign ministers demonstrated this week, writing the concept of flexibility into the revised treaty is far from being a Franco-German fait accompli.

Both governments agree that a group of countries should be able to launch “enhanced cooperation” in certain policy areas without securing the unanimous approval of its partners.

But as the IGC grapples with the complexity of institutional reform, other flexibility plans drafted notably by the Italians and Portuguese are also on the table.

The debate in the weeks ahead will focus on the practical difficulty of introducing the concept into the different intergovernmental and communautaire areas of the Union's treaties.

The Dutch presidency is looking to draft possible legal texts by the time foreign ministers next meet on 24 February, setting out specific principles which would have to be respected in a new multi-speed Union and laying down the ground rules for triggering the new procedures.

Already two clear camps have emerged. France and Germany, with the support of Belgium, Luxembourg and Finland, believe closer cooperation among a group of countries should not require a green light from all Union members.

“It would be rather strange to allow flexibility only after unanimity,” explained one official.

But another group coalescing around Spain, Denmark, Portugal and the UK stresses the need for a unanimous decision, fearing the Franco-German approach hides an attempt to bypass national vetoes.