Sending ground troops, long-range missiles, providing aid to kyiv... Divergences have multiplied between France and Germany.
The two leaders, Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron, meet on Friday March 15 in Berlin, for a meeting on aid to Ukraine placed under the sign of appeasement.
The French president and the German chancellor will not have much of the tête-à-tête planned at midday to remove misunderstandings after their acerbic exchanges which followed the conference in support of Ukraine organized at the Élysée on the 26 FEBRUARY.
Their meeting at the chancellery on Friday will be followed by a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Warsaw's intervention is welcome, underlines expert Nico Lange, associate researcher at the Munich Security Conference.
Former President of the European Council, he is “used to combining contradictory interests. He is capable of calming down differences,” believes Nico Lange.
Friday's summit is "a good sign which shows that things are falling into place and that mistakes are perhaps being corrected", says Nico Lange.
Dissonances between Paris and Berlin
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski says he is “confident about what this three-way summit can represent”.
“Internal pressures within the (German, editor’s note) coalition and international pressures on Chancellor Scholz are encouraging more action,” he said in an interview published Thursday by the daily Ouest-France.
The three leaders must also smooth things over before an important European summit in Brussels on March 21 and 22.
At the end of February, the French head of state's statements regarding the possible sending of troops to Ukraine caused confusion.
Such a possibility was categorically rejected by Olaf Scholz.
Read alsoDeclaration by Emmanuel Macron on sending troops to Ukraine: “Less bragging, more shells”
The dissonances rose a notch the following week when Emmanuel Macron estimated in Prague that Europe was entering a moment “where it would be appropriate not to be cowardly”.
And the French president insisted Thursday evening by affirming that those who place “limits” on the commitment to support Ukraine “are not choosing peace but choosing defeat”.
Read alsoThe war in Ukraine is “existential for Europe and for France”, says Emmanuel Macron
The German leader, who fears the escalation of the conflict, is criticized by several of his allies and even within his majority for his refusal to deliver long-range Taurus missiles, because their adjustment would, according to him, require military intervention. Germans.
“This must not happen with German soldiers – as chancellor I have the responsibility to prevent Germany from participating in this war,” he reiterated in the Bundestag on Wednesday.
“Caution should not be called weakness, as some do.”
Olaf Scholz constantly repeats that Germany is the largest European contributor in absolute value of financial and military aid to kyiv, far ahead of France.
A strategy influenced by the European vote
As the meeting approaches, it is already time for diplomatic remarks: Olaf Scholz assured Wednesday that he has "a very good personal relationship" with Emmanuel Macron, while experts regularly highlight the differences in character and political styles between the The German with a cautious nature and his French counterpart fond of flashes.
Read alsoEuropeans: Ukraine at the heart of the campaign, a risky strategy for Emmanuel Macron
The approach of the European elections interferes in the strategy of the two leaders, attentive to their public opinions.
Olaf Scholz, in free fall in the polls, is "under pressure" from his social democratic party, believes Nico Lange.
A majority of Germans, according to a recent poll, are opposed to the delivery of Taurus missiles.
Emmanuel Macron's camp is focusing its campaign for the European elections on support for Ukraine, accusing the far right, favorite of the election, of pro-Kremlin positions.
With AFP
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