The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, asked Germany and France on Tuesday 22 January to send a "clear signal" that their strengthened cooperation sealed in the bilateral treaty of Aachen, signed the same day, does not constitute "an alternative to the cooperation of all of Europe".
Increased Franco-German cooperation must work "for integration and not instead of integration", he stressed at the signing ceremony in Aachen. "The real strength of the Franco-German engine is determined by its force of attraction", echoed Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
Before them, German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the fact that the new bilateral treaty states that Germany and France are "determined to assist each other in all circumstances", particularly in matters of defence (see EUROPE 12174).
French President Emmanuel Macron had considered that this new stage in Franco-German friendship, which will result in more "economic and social convergence", was compatible with European integration, at a time when Europe is facing external threats and the rise of nationalism and at a time when it is being shaken by "a painful" Brexit and global challenges such as climate change and migration.
"We love our homelands and we love Europe because we know that they are irreparably inseparable", he stressed, assuring that Europe, as Paris and Berlin envisage it, is "not a project of an Empire, but a democratic project with a second wind". And to remind citizens of the importance of demonstrating that Europe can be "the people's shield against the challenges and threats" identified.
The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has admitted that the Franco-German friendship "irritates" from time to time. But “this irritation turns into pain when France and Germany do not agree”, he noted. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)