The meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this Wednesday in Paris was “very constructive”, leading to the creation of working groups on energy, defense and innovation, the presidency revealed.
The French president and the German chancellor “discussed the Franco-German relationship in a spirit of very close work in the medium and long term,” the same source said.
The same assessment of the meeting was made by a German diplomatic source, who pointed out that the Paris meeting resulted in a “friendly” and “constructive” dialogue.
This meeting, which dealt with issues of energy or defense policy, among other things, should lead to “very good and very intensive cooperation” in the coming weeks, according to the same source.
In particular, the two leaders agreed that the European Union was facing “one of the most important crises in its history”, prompting them to address, inter alia, “security and defence”, the issue of “energy, with a focus on high energy prices and supply”, as well as innovation, the German source detailed.
These three themes are sources of tension between the two governments, which do not share the same ideas about, for example, combating the rise in energy prices.
“On these three themes, reflection working groups have been established that will lead the two governments in the coming days to work closely together for the next steps”said the well of the Elisha.
However, the meeting did not trigger a joint statement from the leaders, who appeared before the media in the courtyard of the Elysée only shortly before the working lunch.
The meeting came at a time when there are differences between Paris and Berlin in several key areas, including defense and energy, which may have been the basis for the postponement of the two-government summit scheduled for this Wednesday in Fontainebleau. , although problems with the agendas of several ministers were officially invoked.
In recent weeks, France and Germany have taken very different positions, especially on the European Union’s energy policy after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
France wants to apply the so-called “Iberian exception” across the EU to lower the price of electricity, something Germany opposes.
In addition, the German government has strongly supported the MidCat pipeline project through the Pyrenees between Spain and France, which would also benefit Portugal, which will eventually be abandoned for an underwater hydrogen transport pipeline that will connect Barcelona to Marseille.
In recent weeks, various defense issues, such as the anti-missile project launched by Berlin, or some disagreements over the development of future European combat aircraft (in which Spain also participates), have further complicated the relationship between the two major EU powers. and the euro.
Source: DN
