Tag: Franco-German relations

Meeting on the 50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty sealing their post-war reconciliation, the leaders of Germany and France vowed yesterday (22 January) to bridge differences on the shape of Europe's currency union and unveil joint proposals on deeper integration within months.

Despite tensions over the management of the eurozone debt crisis, the Franco-German relation has bright days ahead of itself, according to Thomas Klau, head of the Paris Office at the European Council on Foreign Relations. The two countries celebrate today (21 January) the 50 years of the signing of the Elysée Treaty.

France's new president François Hollande arrived in Berlin for his first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel only hours after his inauguration yesterday (15 May). The two expressed broad agreement over the necessity to kick-start the European economy but they also had to acknowledge differences over their concepts of growth.

The intervention of ground troops in Libya is unlikely and would run counter to the objectives of the Western coalition, Dominique Moïsi, founder and senior advisor at Ifri (French Institute for International Relations), told EurActiv.