About: Franco-German relations Archives

Having played cat and mouse with Greece over its debt crisis, the good cop and bad cop over Ukraine’s crisis, and having ignited and then steered the refugee crisis, Berlin realises it has no control on the other big geopolitical risk on its doorstep: the Brexit referendum.

Berlin and Paris pledged to work more closely together, during government consultations on Tuesday (31 March) in Berlin, with ministers from both countries aiming for deeper cooperation on numerous issues such as energy policy, TTIP and drone development. EURACTIV Germany reports.

France and Germany are both outspoken in their criticisms of the inclusion of the Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanism in the ongoing trade talks with the US. The two countries are discussing throwing their combined weight behind a common position onthe matter. EURACTIV France reports. 

Warning that Europe risks a "stagnation trap", leading French and German economists proposed reforms and investments to revive growth in the eurozone's two biggest economies, but Berlin swiftly dismissed a key proposal to boost its public investment.

25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event that brought France and Germany closer together, the two countries are fighting to save their relationship against the odds. EURACTIV.fr reports. 

Drones for Ukraine, no ground troops in Syria and Iraq: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius celebrated the French-German relations at a meeting in Berlin Wednesday (15 October), doing their best to circumvent controversial issues like the French budget deficit. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Germany and France will try to reconcile divergent visions of how to fix Europe's economy today (22 September) when Manuel Valls makes his first visit to Berlin as French prime minister and holds talks with Angela Merkel.

The two heads of state will meet on 9-10 May in Stralsund, Germany, for an informal discussion on the future President of the European Commission. EURACTIV France reports.

The core of European integration is what a layman would call a ‘European way of life’, a specific economic and social model that defines European societies and distinguishes them from the rest of the world, former WTO chief Pascal Lamy has said in web chat organised by EURACTIV and the Notre Europe think tank.

Three prominent political analysts spoke with EURACTIV.de on the 51th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, evaluating the Franco-German partnership in 2014 and challenges for the years ahead.

A new coalition in Germany may revamp its EU policy towards more commitment. The country's partners will have to get a better grasp of its concerns, but the new constellation can foster further progress in Europe, write Jacques Delors, Antonio Vitorino and Yves Bertoncini.

The EU has “fundamental” structural problems, while France and Germany are no longer able to formulate a common vision for it, said MEP Sven Giegold (Germany, Greens/EFA group) in an interview with EURACTIV Germany.

A draft resolution in the ruling French Socialist leaked over the weekend has revealed deep hostility towards German-led austerity policies in the European Union. The draft text has since been amended but the episode exposes a deep ideological fracture between the eurozone’s two largest economies.

No major announcement marked the 50th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, perhaps unsurprisingly, but the adoption of two new texts shows the French and Germans are still making steps towards further cooperation. EURACTIV France reports.

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.

Fifty years after the signing of the Elysée Treaty, the most active bilateral relationship in Europe does not live up to its reputation. France and Germany read the crisis differently and have opposing views on the future of Europe. EURACTIV France reports.

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.

Three-quarters of French and 70% of Germans want their countries to harmonise tax and fiscal policy, according to an opinion poll carried out for the German Embassy in Paris. EURACTIV France reports.

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.

In an exclusive interview with EURACTIV, former European Commission President Jacques Delors said Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy maintain a "superficial" alliance which needs to be "rebuilt" – a goal for which he is offering a helping hand.

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.

France was right to take decisive action to prevent Muammar Gaddafi from unleashing a bloodbath in Benghazi, and the distance between positions of Paris took from Berlin would not threaten Franco-German relations, Dominique Moïsi, founder and senior advisor at Ifri (the French Institute for International Relations), told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.