Yesterday's meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz was the culmination of French President Emmanuel Macron's three-day state visit to Germany. The conversations in the palace "Meseberg" near Berlin affected the political aspects of Franco-German relations, which in the last two years of Scholz's administration have been marked by a number of problems, as well as disagreements in connection with Ukraine and economic relations with the United States and China, DPA notes. According to the German agency, while Macron calls for greater European independence and more substantial measures to protect the European economy from competition from Beijing and Washington, Scholz maintains Germany's traditional transatlantic position and seeks to preserve Berlin's access to Chinese markets. In addition, the German chancellor reacted with a great deal of skepticism to Macron's proposal to deploy European ground troops to the front in Ukraine.
The two leaders demonstrated unity in their positions, as in a joint comment for the „Financial Times” called for serious efforts to improve the competitiveness of the European Union. According to Scholz and Macron, the necessary reforms include additional efforts to decarbonize the economy, and the specific means of achieving this goal should be left to member states. In addition, the two leaders call on EU countries to complete the construction of the single financial market by introducing common frameworks for insolvency, taxation and investment. “We cannot take for granted the foundations on which we have built our European way of life and our role in the world,”, they write in their article.
French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated during his joint press conference with Scholz that Kiev should be allowed to “neutralize“ the military bases from which Russia fires its missiles towards Ukrainian territory, reported AFP. At the same time, he added that Kiev should not be allowed to strike other targets in Russia or civilian objects. AFP recalled that Berlin fears an escalation and expansion of the conflict, as well as the risk of Russian President Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons.
According to “Mond” Macron and Scholz tried to present a united front at their joint press conference outside Berlin, insisting they had reached agreement on a number of issues. However, the publication believes that there have been no new concrete decisions regarding support for Ukraine. Macron's harsher tone towards Russia has been a source of tension in his relationship with Scholz recently – Berlin was surprised by the refusal of the president of the Fifth Republic to rule out the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. After Macron's comments, however, Scholz said there were rules for using weapons supplied to Ukraine and that it "must always be within the framework of international law".
This time, Scholz signaled support for Ukraine, saying it has every right to strike targets in Russia to defend itself, reported ”Deutsche Welle”. “This must be said explicitly. Ukraine is under attack and can defend itself. "I find it strange when some people claim that they are not allowed to defend themselves and that they are not allowed to take the necessary measures to that end," the chancellor said.
The international press is closely watching the meeting between Macron and Scholz.
“Politico” notes that with European elections less than two weeks away, French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Berlin as part of a show of demonstrative Franco-German unity. According to a French representative quoted by the publication, Macron aims to “set the agenda” and “set out the strategic priorities” on the future of Europe together with his German partner Scholz during the visit. According to the publication, the problem is that Europe is not sure that the legendary Franco-German engine of the EU project should still be in charge. Macron and Scholz are known to have a frosty personal relationship, and both are increasingly looking like “lame ducks” (Politicians without the possibility to be re-elected for the next term - note ed.) in the eyes of their fellow EU leaders. Both are politically weakened on the domestic front and unable to inspire confidence in a shared vision for the EU's future. The combination of economic weakness, personal frigidity and political weakness is toxic – and critics say it could seriously undermine their authority during negotiations for top jobs after the European Parliament elections. While Paris and Berlin face a loss of influence, other EU leaders see an opportunity to increase theirs. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the weakening of the Franco-German axis, figures such as Prime Ministers Donald Tusk of Poland, Kaja Kalas of Estonia and Giorgia Meloni of Italy have emerged as major power players on the EU scene.
According to the Czech publication “People News” controversial issues prevailed at the meeting: “While the French president has repeatedly emphasized that EU countries must become more economically and militarily independent from the US, German Chancellor Scholz is far more cautious. Berlin still sees the US as the main guarantor of Germany's security, and sees the partnership with France only as something complementary.
The French weekly “Nouvelle Obs” believes that the road to good friendship between the two leaders is still long. “While the president and chancellor agree on the need to strengthen Europe in the face of competition from the two global giants (the US and China), they remain at odds over the importance of nuclear power, budget strategy, trade agreements and the extent of protectionism. Franco-German relations are reduced to the expression of differences of opinion and attempts to find a compromise, says Hélène Miard-Delaucroix, a specialist in German history at the Sorbonne, to the publication. But for Olaf Scholz, with his northern reserve, and Emmanuel Macron, who is always ready to take the bull by the horns, it is clear that the road is turning out to be longer than expected.
“Frankfurter Rundschau” draws attention to other issues dividing Macron and Scholz. “The dispute over the introduction of car tariffs against China, for example, could threaten jobs and therefore Europe's prosperity. This, in turn, will fuel the fears among the population that right-wing populists have benefited from so far. EU countries are capable of uniting when challenged from outside. At least that was the case when US President Donald Trump was putting pressure on European allies. But to solve the many problems, the EU would do well to move at a faster pace. The Franco-German engine can guarantee this,” writes the observer Andreas Schwarzkopf in his article.
And the Polish “Zechpospolita” believes France is waiting for a change of government in Germany before taking further steps towards rapprochement: “The dramatically low approval rating for Germany's Social Democratic Party (around 15%) means there is a growing temptation in Paris to pull away from the current government. There are many indications that Scholz's post will be taken over by CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz in just over a year. The opinion about Paris is that although the Christian Democrats will remain just as principled on financial matters, they are likely to be more open to cooperation with the French in other areas”, notes the author of the article, Andrzej Bilecki.
And the French MEP Bernard Guetta in a comment on the page of the Italian “Republica” adds to the Paris-Berlin and Warsaw axis - according to him, the Weimar Triangle is the only chance for the future of Europe. “At a time when dangers are piling up on our borders, the likes of which we have not seen since 1939, the EU has the French army as its only defense. Therefore, as soon as the Poles pushed the anti-German right back into opposition, the Weimar Triangle awoke from its slumber. Inevitable conflicts of interest will slow down the move toward a common defense. But the rapprochement of these three countries is a harbinger of what is becoming before our eyes a third moment of European unity. After the single market and the single currency, now comes political unity.”
The correspondent of the “Irish Times” Derek Scully believes three days were not enough to overcome the deep differences between Paris and Berlin over the ways and means of how the EU's two biggest countries should tackle major challenges from security to climate. But Macron noted that the two capitals “always agreed in the end– this is the most important thing for the future”. How much future there is for the EU is unclear, the French president warned earlier, saying that “neither Europe nor peace are guaranteed forever” and that they are threatened by the extremism of the few – and the apathy of many.