Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Scholz jointly attended the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the "Elysee Treaty" in Paris, and chaired a French-German joint cabinet meeting to discuss bilateral cooperation, European strategic autonomy and European integration. .

　　The "Elysee Treaty" was signed on January 22, 1963. It is a landmark document for the comprehensive reconciliation between France and Germany after the war.

Experts pointed out that when Europe is facing multiple crises, France and Germany hope to deepen cooperation to meet the challenges.

In view of the differences between the two sides on issues such as energy and defense, France and Germany still face many challenges in order to jointly promote the process of European integration.

Relationships recover amid crisis

　　During the commemorative activities, the leaders of France and Germany released positive signals to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, emphasizing the need to strengthen the "engine" of France and Germany.

Macron described France and Germany as "two souls in one chest" and said the two countries "have blazed the trail of reconciliation and must therefore be at the vanguard of 'reshaping' Europe".

Scholz said that France and Germany, as the "engine of European integration", can transcend the differences between the two sides.

　　According to comprehensive foreign media reports, a major achievement of the Franco-German joint cabinet meeting is that the two sides reached a consensus on jointly responding to the US "Inflation Reduction Act".

The two sides also agreed to develop the production and transportation of hydrogen energy on a large scale in continental Europe, especially to help Germany, which needs to import most of its hydrogen energy.

A joint communique on national defense and security issued by France and Germany shows that the two countries are cooperating with Spain to develop the "future air combat system" and hope to make important progress in the "ground main combat system" project.

　　Analysts pointed out that the high-profile commemoration of the treaty by the two countries shows that after a period of tension, France and Germany are trying to rebuild their cooperative relations.

　　In recent months, Franco-German relations have experienced twists and turns.

In October 2022, due to serious differences on energy, defense and other issues, the Franco-German ministerial meeting originally scheduled to be held in France that month was postponed.

The French "Le Monde" published an article saying that "this is the first time that the mechanism has been postponed since its creation in 2003, and it is a worrying political signal."

However, since November 2022, from the signing of the energy "solidarity agreement" to the joint response to the US "Inflation Reduction Act", to the leaders' meeting to swear "unity", the relationship between France and Germany has gradually recovered.

　　Wang Shuo, a professor at the School of International Relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, pointed out in an interview with our reporter that France and Germany have been playing the role of the "engine" since the European integration process started after World War II.

Both sides have common needs and interests in realizing the big goal of peace and development in Europe.

Especially after the Ukrainian crisis, the internal and external crises faced by the European Union have intensified. If the cooperation between France and Germany suffers setbacks, Europe will be "a mess of sand."

At present, both France and Germany are willing to deal with the crisis through cooperation.

In addition, France and Germany also need to use bilateral cooperation as a starting point to use the European integration platform to deal with their own development problems and obtain more opportunities.

For example, Germany is a major manufacturing and exporting country in Europe, and the EU countries are its most important market; France has always wanted to play the role of a European leader, and it also needs to play its role through the EU organization.

many differences remain

　　Although tensions between France and Germany have eased recently, many analysts pointed out that the many contradictions exposed by the two sides in the previous stage have not been completely resolved.

　　Yan Jin, executive director of the Center for European Studies at Renmin University of China, believes that after the Ukraine crisis, the differences between France and Germany in the fields of energy and defense have become more prominent.

　　In terms of solving the energy crisis, the German government announced in September 2022 that it will invest 200 billion euros to stabilize energy prices through government subsidies and other means.

France accused Germany of taking the move without prior consultation with the rest of the EU and giving German companies an unfair competitive advantage.

Germany once opposed the natural gas price limit, which was considered by EU member states such as France as "a selfish act that undermines unity."

Germany is also dissatisfied with France's idea of ​​expanding its nuclear power plant network and promoting nuclear energy as clean energy at the EU level.

　　In terms of defense policy, Germany set up a special fund of 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr, planned to purchase F-35 fighter jets from the United States, and hoped to use Israel and the United States' existing anti-missile systems, which caused dissatisfaction in France.

France hopes to jointly develop a new generation of European fighters with Germany, and develop Europe's own anti-missile system on the basis of the French and Italian systems.

The increase of the United States' political and security influence on Germany is something France does not want to see.

　　According to a report by Agence France-Presse on January 22, in the poll conducted by Ipsos Group this week, 36% of French respondents and 39% of German respondents were pessimistic about the relationship between the two countries.

　　Marie Kelpata, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations, believes that France sees itself as the "political engine" of the EU, while Germany is the "economic engine" of the EU.

However, Germany's series of actions has attracted attention in terms of energy, economy and defense, and Germany's role in the European Union is constantly increasing.

"New Zurich Zeitung" German analyst Ulrich Spike pointed out that the deep-seated reason for the differences between France and Germany may be that both sides are vying for the leading position of the EU.

　　"Although France and Germany have the same goal of promoting European integration, there are big differences in thinking logic and interest needs." Wang Shuo pointed out that on energy issues, Germany's demand for Russian energy is much greater than that of France, and it is more affected by the energy crisis. Seriously; France has relatively rich nuclear energy resources, and the two sides have different considerations on future energy layout.

In terms of defense integration, France hopes to lead Europe to achieve defense independence instead of relying on NATO.

The United States has an important influence on European integration: on the one hand, it requires Europe, as a key ally, to strengthen its own capacity building to serve the global hegemony of the United States;

Therefore, the United States frequently takes advantage of the differences in interests within the EU to divide and weaken it.

"Engine" in need of repair

　　Franco-Germany are increasingly aware of the importance of strengthening cooperation under the circumstances that the EU's manufacturing industry is facing shocks, economic recovery continues to be under pressure, energy supply is tight, and inflation remains high.

Macron and Scholz previously pointed out in a joint signed article published by the media of the two countries that 60 years after the signing of the "Elysee Treaty", France and Germany still have the same ideal-to build a resilient, strong and sovereign EU.

　　"The historical development of European integration shows that only when France and Germany reconcile, cooperate and play the role of 'twin engines', European integration can continue to overcome difficulties and move forward." Yan Jin pointed out that at the moment when Europe is facing a series of crises and challenges, The deepening of cooperation between France and Germany is of great significance.

France and Germany should not only consider their own interests, but also the overall interests of the European Union. From the perspective of maintaining the unity of the European Union and the development of European integration, they should properly coordinate their differences and build a more independent, safer and more sustainable development. work together in Europe.

　　"Europe will be strong only if Berlin and Paris cooperate well." Lammert, former speaker of the German Bundestag and chairman of the think tank Adenauer Foundation, recently wrote in the German "Welt" that in order to ensure unified action in line with European interests, Germany France must stand together, and the "German-French engine" that is the core of the European integration process cannot be turned off.

　　A recent article on the website of the German weekly Die Zeit pointed out that in the long run, it is beneficial for Europe and France and Germany to reach a consensus rather than go their own way at every opportunity.

It is important to tackle the big problems of our time, such as climate change and rising poverty, with a shared vision.

"For this, the two countries need to understand each other. As former French foreign minister Laurent Fabius once said, the French must understand that a German is not a German-speaking French and vice versa."

　　"Crisis will reverse the pace of European integration, and the same is true for Franco-German cooperation. Stimulated by internal and external crises, Franco-Germany have the consciousness of shaking hands, but they face more difficulties in cooperation. These are two contradictory On the one hand.” Wang Shuo pointed out that the strengthening of cooperation between France and Germany is beneficial to both sides, and is also conducive to the process of European integration.

However, given the differences and contradictions between France and Germany in specific fields, especially key issues such as energy and defense, the cooperation between the two sides must be a process of constantly encountering and solving problems.

France and Germany need to further strengthen coordination and seek more common interests, and the conditions for large-scale cooperation are not yet available.

　　Li Jiabao