France and Germany tried to display unity during joint government consultations on Sunday after the Franco-German engine considerably lost steam in recent months.
The consultations were held to honour the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty which marked the start of the Franco-German friendship and laid the foundation for European integration. It was extended by the integration and cooperation Aachen treaty, signed on January 22, 2019.
“The German-French engine is a compromise machine, well oiled, but sometimes noisy and marked by hard work,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his speech during the Élysée Treaty ceremony.
“It is not driven by sweet cuddles and empty symbolism, but by our firm will to transform controversies and differences of interest into concerted action again and again,” he said, adding that all of this “is a mission in the name of history”.
“Our goal is the same – a Europe that is more sovereign, that has more solidarity, that holds its destiny in its own hands,” his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron said.
However, since the US has since announced its own Inflation Reduction Act which includes about $500 billion in spending and tax breaks that aim to benefit US companies over the next ten years, both sides emphasised the need for more joint EU action.
“We want to pursue three goals together technological sovereignty, industrialisation of our continent and decarbonisation,” Macron said.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen put forward a plan to counter the US Inflation Reduction Act by allowing governments to subsidise their green industries more expansively and by setting up a joint European fund.
“We are in full agreement, in full agreement with Ursula von der Leyen’s recent statements of a few days ago,” Macron said, adding that the proposed “European regulation for the Green industry” is much needed.
Scholz agreed, arguing that “it is necessary that we deal with the Inflation Reduction Act and formulate a European response to it” – an issue that will be further discussed at the European Council in February.
At the same time, the two leaders also agreed to a “common approach” on the way to produce decarbonised hydrogen.
“Both renewable and low carbon hydrogen can be taken into account in European decarbonisation objectives while acknowledging their differences and safeguarding the overall ambition level of the renewable target”, according to the agreement.
This new hydrogen cooperation includes the extension of the H2Med pipeline that connects Germany and Spain, via France, and replaced the MidCat pipeline project that ground to a halt after Macron continuously opposed it.
Now, with the H2Med pipeline project, “it is much simpler to go through the Mediterranean and to go from port to port”, said Macron.
“It is an excellent project for the future”, Scholz added.
On subjects like youth and defence, “We have reclarified our strategy”, Macron also said.
(Oliver Noyan | EURACTIV.de, Paul Messad | EURACTIV.fr)
Source: euractiv.com
