French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are calling on Friday January 20 to strengthen the “sovereignty” of the European Union, in a joint forum published two days before the Franco-German Council of Ministers.
This is a key challenge for the EU “to ensure that Europe becomes even more sovereign and has the geopolitical capabilities to shape the international order”write in the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung the French and German leaders, before the 60e anniversary of the Elysée Treaty which unites the two countries.
According to them, Europe must invest more in its armed forces and its armaments industry. “Improved European capabilities and a stronger European pillar in NATO also make us a stronger partner vis-à-vis the other side of the Atlantic and the United States – better equipped, more effective and more powerfulthey point out.
Franco-German Council of Ministers
After months of hesitation, MM. Macron and Scholz are challenged to relaunch the Franco-German tandem on Sunday in Paris, for the 60e anniversary of the reconciliation treaty between the two countries. This agreement made it possible to “to overcome decades, if not centuries, of bitter rivalries and bloody wars between our two countries in the heart of Europe”argue the two leaders.
European sovereignty should not be measured only in military terms but also on the capabilities of “resilience and to act in a forward-looking manner in strategic areas”. This implies a diversification of “strategic procurement goods”, they add. Europe must also do everything to “to become the first climate-neutral continent in the world”.
MM. Macron and Scholz cite as other objectives that Europe becomes “a world leader in production and innovation” and “economic and social progress goes hand in hand with an ecological transition”. The festivities promise to be quite formal on Sunday with a ceremony at the Sorbonne in the morning, followed by a Franco-German council of ministers at the Elysée, the same one which had been postponed at the end of October against the backdrop of bilateral dissension.