Cold relations between Paris and Berlin is one of its consequences
Ukraine's war..inflation..and the energy crisis created tensions between the European Union
Macron receives Schultz in Paris.
EPA
The port of Hamburg, where a Chinese company struck a controversial deal with France.
archival
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Very cold weather clouds the atmosphere of the relationship between Germany and France, as relations between the two leaders of the two economic powers in the European Union, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, have become so complicated that they did not even dare to appear at a press conference after their joint meeting in Paris, last Wednesday, which is the diplomatic tradition. Most compliment, which comes after bilateral meetings.
Berlin had previously announced this press conference, but the Elysee Palace canceled it.
allegations
After the working lunch, officials on both sides - who did not want to be identified - claimed that the meeting had been a success.
"He was very constructive and strategic, our attention was on energy, and today we were able to raise the level of conversation, discuss what we want to do in five or 10 years," said one of Macron's advisers.
However, the canceled press conference reflects another story, one of disdain for Schulz. Schulz traveled with a whole group of journalists to Paris, and from there he moved to Athens on a visit to another country. Not holding a press conference for a visiting leader is a political tactic, generally a disdain for the guest. , as did Schulz recently when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Berlin.
Sandra Wieser, a member of the German Free Democratic Party and a board member of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly, says, “We believe that there is a lack of communication so far between the new government teams of Schulz and Macron, and this certainly indicates the beginning of intractable political relations between the two sides, and trust must first be built. in order to evaluate it.
energy crisis
In recent weeks, Schulz and Macron have differed over how to tackle the energy crisis, how to overcome Europe's inability to defend itself, and the best approach to dealing with China.
And last week, these tensions came to light when the French-German cabinet meeting scheduled in the French town of Fontainebleau was postponed to next January, amid major disagreements over the text of the joint declaration, as well as conflicting holiday plans by some German ministers.
The rift between the two governments also surfaced on a large scale at the European Union summit, which took place last week in Brussels.
European alliances strained
The war in Ukraine and the inflation and energy crisis have strained European alliances at a time when they need them most, and what has always been a vital alliance between Paris and Berlin seemed paradoxical at best.
French officials complain that Berlin does not treat them adequately as reliable partners. For example, France has claimed that Germany did not inform it of its €200 billion domestic energy-price easing package, and the French know that their counterparts in Berlin are aware of their frustrations.
“This cooperation has always gone well in times of crisis - for example the recovery fund during the coronavirus crisis,” says Chantal Kopf, a lawmaker from the Green Party (one of the three parties in Germany's ruling coalition), a board member of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly. - Now the French also want to respond to the current energy crisis, or how to deal with China.
Wither pointed to a similar result, saying, "Paris is upset that Germany has taken a unilateral decision to end gas prices, and is not supporting joint European defense technology projects." Meanwhile, Weiser accused the French government of being slow until recently in building a new pipeline. It connects the Iberian Peninsula and northern Europe.
Unprecedented tensions
Recently, the French government was alarmed by news that Schulz plans to visit Beijing, next week, to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first visit by a foreign leader to China since Jinping began a third term.
Germany and China are also preparing for government consultations planned for January.
The Élysée thinks it would have been better if Macron and Schulze visited China together, preferably soon after the Chinese Communist Party congress, at which Xi was given another mandate.
According to a French official, the visit, which comes shortly after the conference, would "legitimize" Xi's third term.
Germany and France's uncoordinated approach to China contrasts with Xi's recent visit to Europe in 2019 when Macron welcomed him and also invited former Chancellor Angela Merkel and former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to Paris to show European unity.
Macron has refrained from direct criticism of the controversial Port of Hamburg deal with China's Cosco, which came shortly before Schulz's visit to Beijing, but the French president questioned, last week, the wisdom of allowing China to invest in "basic infrastructure", and warned of That Europe was "naive" toward Chinese purchases in the past "because we made Europe like an open supermarket."
The deputy head of the Defense Committee of the French National Assembly, Jean-Louis Terriot, says that Germany is increasingly focusing on defense in Eastern Europe, at the expense of joint German-French projects, for example, Berlin signed a deal with 13 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Several of them are in Northern and Eastern Europe, to jointly acquire an air and missile defense shield, much to the dismay of France.
"The situation is tense as never before," says Terriot, and the tensions are now getting worse.
In the past two months, Germany decided to end work on the Franco-German Tiger helicopter, abandoned joint naval patrols, and refused to sign the air defense shield, which constituted a fatal blow to the defense relationship.
Fuss about costs
The suspension of the French-German joint ministerial meeting, last week, was not the first clash between Berlin and Paris, when it came to high-level meetings. Back in August, the question was whether Schulz and Macron would meet in Ludwigsburg on September 9 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of a famous speech It was given by former French President Charles de Gaulle in a southwestern German town.
But despite the highly symbolic nature of the ceremony, the leaders' meeting never took place, with officials giving conflicting accounts of why it happened, from conflicting appointments to alleged disagreements over who should bear the costs.
Late last month, Paris felt disdain for Berlin when Schulz did not feel embarrassed to speak to French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, and a meeting between the two leaders was canceled in Berlin, because the chancellor had contracted the Corona virus, but several French officials told Politico that he A video conference, which was later arranged, was also cancelled, allegedly because the Germans had informed Bourne's office that Schulz felt ill.
Paris, however, was even more surprised and alarmed when, on the same day, Schulz appeared by video conference at a press conference, not showing any traces of the alleged disease, but confidently announced an energy relief package worth 200 billion euros.
The French say they were not informed of the matter in advance, and a German spokesman declined to comment.
• Paris is disturbed by Germany's decision alone to put an end to gas prices and its failure to support joint European defense technology projects.
• In recent weeks, Schulz and Macron have differed on how to handle the energy crisis, how to overcome Europe's inability to defend itself, and the best approach to dealing with China.
• Macron refrained from directing criticism of the port of Hamburg's controversial deal with China's Cosco, which came shortly before Schulz's visit to Beijing.
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