Close French-German ties 'good but not enough', says analayst as Macron to meet Scholz

Record ID: 1650519

  • Title: Close French-German ties 'good but not enough', says analayst as Macron to meet Scholz
  • Date: 10th December 2021
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (FILE - OCTOBER 22, 2021) (REUTERS) EUROPEAN FLAGS EXTERIOR OF EUROPEAN COUNCIL BUILDINGS
  • Embargoed: 24th December 2021 09:23
  • Keywords: Belarus European Union France Germany Macron Russia Sahel Scholz Ukraine chancellor defence migrants
  • Location: PARIS AND WIMEREUX, FRANCE / HAMBURG, FRANCE / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM / DONETSK REGION, UKRAINE / GRODNO, BELARUS / MALI AND NIGER BORDER / GOURMA, MALI
  • City: PARIS AND WIMEREUX, FRANCE / HAMBURG, FRANCE / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM / DONETSK REGION, UKRAINE / GRODNO, BELARUS / MALI AND NIGER BORDER / GOURMA, MALI
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Europe,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA00DF7GENUV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Paris for an inaugural working meeting on Friday (December 10), when the two most powerful EU leaders will begin the search for common ground to tackle crises within the bloc and beyond.
    French analyst Marion Gaillard said that although a fairly good relationship between Paris and Berlin is expected, Macron and Scholz would need to work with other European states ensure good management of issues that concern the 27-member bloc.
    "It's good when we have a Franco-German couple that gets on well... but it's never enough," said Gaillard, an expert on French-German relations at political studies institute Sciences-Po in Paris.
    Heading the agenda, French officials say, will be tensions over Ukraine, which U.S. officials believe could face a Russian invasion early next year, and Macron's priorities for France's six-month European Union presidency, which starts on Jan. 1
    Macron developed a friendly relationship with Scholz's long-time predecessor Angela Merkel, who broke with German tradition by backing unprecedented joint debt-raising efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    But the two leaders were also at odds over some key issues including Germany's gas imports from Russia - which denies it plans to invade Ukraine - how to defend Europe and its relationship with other big competitors including China.
    Other EU countries have also worked to forge mini-alliances - such as the Frugal Four of fiscally conservative western nations or the Visegrad four in eastern Europe - in part to redress perceived imbalances stemming from Franco-German coordination efforts.
    French diplomats appear optimistic over the outlook for ties with Germany under Scholz, citing the "strategic sovereignty" in the coalition deal that took him to power that they say echoes Macron's push for European "strategic autonomy."
    Migrant crises will also be one of the key points of the working relationship between Macron and Scholz, Gaillard said, adding that both leaders both have the stance that responsibilities on the influx of migrants should be shared among EU nations.
    In terms of defence, Gaillard said "there won't be more or less convergence" than under Merkel's mandate.
    Macron on Thursday (December 9) said the EU needed to define a new defence strategy that would strengthen its ability to defend itself, adding that he wanted to "Europeanise" France's security relationship with the West African Sahel region, where French soldiers are deployed in the fight against Islamist militants.
    Gaillard said, though, that differences remain between France and Germany, notably on arms exports and Macron's campaign for a euro zone reform, one of the French president's "failures."
    "He was not able to convince the Germans," Gaillard said.
    (Production: Noemie Olive, Michaela Cabrera, Ardee Napolitano, Lea Guedj)
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