Played harmony, but not even a statement

Paris Speechlessness has set in in Franco-German relations: After the cancellation of the Franco-German Council of Ministers at short notice, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) discussed a way out of the bilateral crisis with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Wednesday.

The press conference with Macron originally announced by the federal government did not take place, and in the end a solo statement by Scholz in the embassy was canceled. At least it seems as if both of them don’t even dare to speak together in front of the cameras, so as not to make the differences appear even more obvious.

Scholz and Macron sat together in the Élysée Palace for a little over three hours, first at lunch with their advisors, then in private. The Federal Government then drew a harmonious picture of the meeting.

There is a “considerable contrast to the media situation” in the Franco-German cooperation and the relationship between Scholz and Macron, especially in reporting in France. At the “very intensive, very cooperative meeting” “the entire range of topics” was discussed, according to German government circles.

Top jobs of the day

Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.

Accordingly, Macron and Scholz had also agreed on “concrete cooperation projects”. However, the federal government did not want to say exactly which projects are involved. The exchange in the Élysée Palace served the “strategic self-assurance” of both countries. The French government initially did not communicate anything after the meeting.

>> Read our comment here: Franco-German relations need a fresh start

A number of conflicts have accumulated in Franco-German relations in recent months. Complaints can be heard from various quarters in Paris that Berlin is “doing its own thing” in security and energy policy.

Instead of the Scholz visit, the German-French Council of Ministers was supposed to take place near Paris on Wednesday, but it was canceled last week. According to reports, a new date is planned for January.

The Council of Ministers is an expression of the special relationship between Germany and France. The Aachen Agreement stipulates that the cabinets of both countries meet “at least once a year”. The Council of Ministers last took place in 2019. In 2020 it was canceled due to the pandemic and in 2021 there was a video conference.

Dispute over Pipeline Midcat

The traditionally close coordination between Berlin and Paris has been replaced by upsets that are difficult to overlook. Macron recently announced in Prague, together with the heads of government of Spain and Portugal, plans for a pipeline from Barcelona to Marseille.

According to the communiqué, this would eventually deliver green hydrogen to the north of the EU – and only “limited amounts of natural gas, a temporary transitional energy”. With this, the French President booted out the federal government.

In the past few months, she had campaigned for a resumption of the Midcat pipeline project from Spain through the Pyrenees to France.

Berlin also argued that this is a future transport route for green hydrogen. But this source of energy is still a thing of the future. In the short term, the Germans wanted a new natural gas delivery route to replace the missing Russian gas.

>> Read also: Spain, Portugal and France agree on new pipeline

Macron locked himself against Midcat. Scholz sought to close ranks with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez against the French. The chancellor was then caught off guard by the volte of the Madrid government. France did not consider it necessary to involve the federal government in the Mediterranean pipeline to Marseille.

Air defense system: Without France, but with Great Britain

The surprise in the French government was similarly great when Scholz proposed a new European air defense system in a keynote speech on the future of the EU at the end of August. Paris felt it was a provocation that the federal government pushed ahead with the plan without France’s participation, but brought the UK, who had left the EU, on board.

In addition, the group wants to buy missile defense technology from Israel and the United States. In Paris, the “European Sky Shield Initiative” was taken as a sign that the federal government is putting the joint armament projects with France on the back burner in its “turning point”.

The French had previously been annoyed that the 100 billion euros from the special fund for the Bundeswehr would be used to purchase fighter jets and other armaments from the United States.

With a view to the German procurement strategy, Macron had already warned in the spring: A European defense community based on armaments imports “makes no sense”. The French side was under the impression that the President’s calls for “European sovereignty” were being ignored on the German side.

German resistance to a gas price cap at EU level and the federal government’s planned 200 billion relief package in the energy crisis also caused resentment in Paris. The accusation: Germany gives its industry an advantage with money that other EU countries do not have.

More: Whether Europe gets enough gas depends on these points

source site-13