Macron in Hamburg to shore up rocky marriage between France and Germany
French President Emmanuel Macron is in Germany on Monday to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. French-German ties are instrumental for stability within the European Union, but there are a growing number of issues on which Berlin and Paris don't agree.
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Macron will travel to the German port city of Hamburg where he will meet German leader Olaf Scholz and other members of the German government.
According to German TV station Nord Deutsche Rundfunk, the two leaders will visit Airbus factories in Finkenwerder. The aircraft manufacturer, which has its main location in the French city of Toulouse, is key to industrial cooperation between Germany and France.
High on the agenda may also be the joint development of a German-French "main ground combat system" (MGCS) battle tank.
According to Defense News, defence ministers of France and Germany are set to begin negotiations in 2024 for the next-generation tank project with industry leaders KNDS, a Franco-German joint venture, and Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall. After that, other European countries such as the Netherlands or Italy could join the initiative.
The visit may also be aimed at giving new impetus into the Franco-German relationship, which has been marred by friction since the end of Angela Merkel's chancellorship.
From treaty to tension
France and Germany, the EU's two richest and most influential members, are at odds on a number of issues, from the bloc's defence strategy to its response to the energy crisis, relations with China and even fiscal policy.
In 1963, post-World War II leaders Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle signed the Elysée Treaty, which was meant to prevent any further hostilities like the Napoleonic Wars, the 1870 Franco-German War and the two World Wars of the 20th century that cost the lives of millions of people.
A "reinforcement" of that treaty was signed by Macron and then German leader Merkel in 2019.
But Scholz, who took the helm in Germany in 2021, wasn't inclined to sail the European ship with Macron as smoothly as his predecessor.
The friction started last year, after a standoff between the two leaders while the EU struggled to reach an agreement on whether to cap gas prices in response to Russia's war in Ukraine.
That also impacted Europe's plans to build its next generation of fighter jets, and tensions grew over German plans for gas pipeline projects across the EU and increasing Chinese investment in Germany's harbours and airports.
Germany also seems unhappy with the role Macron is playing and may see a shift from Berlin as the EU's pre-eminent power to Paris – underscored by Macron's plans for a "sovereign Europe" that would be less dependent on Washington.
The latest glitch came when Germany quietly decided to close down two of its five Goethe Institutes in France, in Bordeaux and in Lille.
Leaders of the Bordeaux region wrote an open letter to the cultural organisation to express their "astonishment and dismay" over the closure, underlining the importance of the centre in Bordeaux in supporting "the dynamics of Franco-German relations".
The Goethe Institute said in a press release that it was closing nine outlets worldwide due to "significant changes in the geopolitical and financial conditions" – in other words, nothing personal.
Lack of chemistry
Be that as it may, personal chemistry – or the lack of it – between the leaders of the EU's two most powerful countries counts for a lot.
After Scholz came to power in 2021, Macron was reportedly disconcerted to find that his new German counterpart showed little interest in putting in personal time with the French president, unlike his predecessor Merkel. Instead Scholz has cultivated links with the leaders of Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.
After warning Germany in vain over the risk of depending too heavily on Russia for its gas, Macron felt vindicated in his push to strengthen European self-reliance, from energy to defence and trade, French officials told Reuters last year.
But a mysterious explosion in the Nord Stream pipeline last September rendered Russian gas distribution to north-west Europe impossible, while Germany's China policy hardened considerably.
(with newswires)
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