The resurgence of transatlantic tensions is a wake-up call that requires Europeans to “step up cooperation” and speed up work to increase their financial and economic sovereignty, according to German Finance Minister, Lars Klingbeil, and French Finance Minister, Roland Lescure, on Monday 19 January in Berlin and Brussels, as they presented Franco-German proposals to strengthen the European Union’s economic sovereignty.
This is an “EU moment” that requires the EU to step up its efforts towards greater independence and “European patriotism” in economic matters, said Mr Klingbeil. “We are ready to find solutions, but we are not ready to be intimidated”, he stressed.
For Mr Lescure, the Western world is entering “uncharted territory”: “An ally is considering using tariffs, we don’t like tariffs, as a geopolitical weapon” to put pressure on the Europeans, he noted, calling for action to ensure that the threats made by US President, Donald Trump, do not materialise (see EUROPE 13789/1).
The two ministers called for the doubling of efforts to make progress on a number of issues that will enable the EU to strengthen its economic sovereignty, notably by mobilising European private savings to finance innovation. Building on the recommendations of the ‘FIVE’ report, presented the same day by Christian Noyer and Jörg Kukies, they announced the establishment of a “French-German Scale-Ups financing roadmap”, including the creation of a platform bringing together institutional investments and private equity funds.
A bilateral task force on the future of digital finance will also be set up to identify “key drivers, barriers and emerging trends” in this area, with the aim of establishing a secure and competitive digital financial ecosystem in Europe.
This work will include: - an analysis of possible measures to support the international role of the euro in digital payments, including fostering the development and adoption of euro-denominated ‘stablecoins’ and ‘tokenised deposits’; - an assessment of the potential of tokenisation to increase the efficiency and security of financial markets.
The task force will deliver its conclusions in a comprehensive report expected in the second half of 2026.
Germany and France also look favourably on the forthcoming work to establish a 28th regime for companies operating within the internal market.
See the Franco-German statement: https://aeur.eu/f/kav
See the ‘Kukies/Noyer’ report: https://aeur.eu/f/kau
G7 Finance Group. On the international front, Mr Lescure announced that he had invited his counterparts from the G7 countries to take part in a videoconference meeting on Wednesday 21 January, even though a meeting to launch the French Presidency had initially been scheduled for early February.
French priorities include the fight against global imbalances and increased cooperation in the field of rare earths (see EUROPE 13785/3).
This first meeting of the G7 Finance Group will provide an opportunity to discuss all these issues, as well as current affairs such as “support for Ukraine and, above all, the United States’ recent stance on Greenland”, confirmed the French minister. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)