Brussels, 24/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - The future of Franco-German relations is going through the commemoration of the Élysée Treaty. This treaty, which was signed in January 1963 by the German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the French President Charles de Gaulle, lays down a framework for new relations between Germany and France, nearly 20 years after the end of the Second World War. Receiving François Hollande on Thursday 23 August, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that the French president would return to Germany on Saturday 22 September to mark the 50th anniversary of the speech General De Gaulle made before the young people of Germany in Ludwigsburg in September 1962. "On its 50th anniversary, we want to give the Treaty of Élysée all the strength it needs to ensure its continuation, allowing our two countries to be united over the next decades, as we have been for the last 50 years. I am deeply committed to Franco-German friendship. It lies at the heart of European integration", said Hollande. (MB/transl.fl)