Brussels, 26/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - In a press release, the two secretary generals of Franco-German cooperation note that Franco-German cooperation has never been so intense, and that Chancellor Schroeder being represented by President Chirac at the European Council of 17 October 2003 bears witness to the level of trust between the two countries. On 22 January, named Franco-German Day following the summit on 22 January 2003 celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the Elysee Treaty, the two ministers said the two countries committed themselves to rapidly concluding the Intergovernmental Conference and adopting a European Constitution to stimulate integration in Europe. They said that Berlin and Paris would remain the engine of European integration this year and the precursors of a Europe of the citizens. (They also announced the launch of a Franco-German website: http://www.france-allemagne.fr )
The Observatoire des relations franco-allemandes pour la construction européenne (ORFACE), chaired by Alexandre Wattin, organised a Franco-German youth parliament in Versailles on 22 January, attended by Pierre Lequiller, President of France's Délégation de l'Assemblée nationale pour l'Union européenne and former Convention Member.