Coronavirus: a recovery plan which marks the return of the Franco-German couple

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Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron proposed Monday a stimulus package of up to 500 billion euros to deal with the Covid-19 crisis. It must be financed by a joint debt issue. Much remains to be done to convince - Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark have already said they are opposed to the project - but the Franco-German couple is back, and on an unprecedented proposal.

Publicity

"  A 180-degree turn, but it may be in Germany's interest to do everything to support the political and economic cohesion of the European Union  ". The editorial of one of the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine may surprise and shows more generally that minds are evolving in Germany, as shown by the positions of liberal economists, underlines our correspondent in Berlin , Pascal Thibaut .

►Also read: Paris and Berlin propose a 500 billion euro plan to get Europe out of the crisis

Same tone in the daily life of Handelsblatt business circles which speaks of a "  strong signal for Europe  ". The center-left newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung believes that the Merkel / Macron plan puts other European countries under pressure and that the Franco-German compromise can bring together the north and the south of the continent defending until now divergent strategies.

Social Democratic Finance Minister Olaf Scholz welcomed the initiative. The vice-president of the Conservative parliamentary group in the Bundestag and the “Mr. Finance” of the same group support the Merkel / Macron plan. The Greens are delighted that Angela Merkel has accepted joint debts, an option always put forward by German environmentalists.

Change of mentalities?

Reacting to crises, the Franco-German tandem often did so in pain and with a lot of time to think. In 2008, during the financial crisis, Nicolas Sarkozy was annoyed by the slow decision of Angela Merkel. François Hollande never succeeded in getting the Chancellor to accept eurobonds. It was already a common debt mechanism when this project was put back on the table last March at a European Council to respond to the coronavirus crisis. And it's still a Berlin no. Pooling debts has always been a major taboo across the Rhine.

What has changed in a few weeks for the Chancellor to take this major step? There is first, and this is new, the opening of a debate on this subject in Germany in the media, in economic circles, with for example in March a forum of seven economists demanding the emission of 1 000 billion euros of "  community bonds  ". And then there was this decision of the Karlsruhe Constitutional Court earlier this month, calling into question the policy of the European Central Bank.

On this showdown, last week, Angela Merkel had sent a message. The Chancellor had quoted before the Bundestag Jacques Delors: "  We need a political union, a monetary union will not be enough  ". Understand: in this showdown, for her, the solution is more European integration. This will be the case, if it is done, with this joint debt issue. A major step for Germany and for what must be Angela Merkel's last mandate .

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• Germany
• France
• Economy
• Angela Merkel
• Emmanuel Macron
• European Union
• Coronavirus

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Paris and Berlin propose a 500 billion euro plan to get Europe out of the crisis