Habeck and Le Maire want to expand cooperation on hydrogen - message to Scholz from Paris?

Created: 11/22/2022, 7:27 p.m

By: Kathrin Reikowski

Economics Ministers Robert Habeck and Bruno Le Maire want to expand Franco-German cooperation.

(Archive image) © Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

Economics Minister Robert Habeck and his French colleague Bruno Le Maire want to set up joint hydrogen pipelines and artificial intelligence projects.

Paris/Berlin - "We want to increasingly identify projects together again and offer them to other European countries for entry," said Robert Habeck on Tuesday in Berlin.

After meeting his French colleague Bruno Le Maire in France, he advocates stronger Franco-German cooperation.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) visited Paris on Monday.

Habeck named the construction of a pipeline system for hydrogen, projects on artificial intelligence and the backup of data in cloud systems as examples of cooperation.

He reiterated that joint purchasing of gas at European level should be implemented as soon as possible.

"We know that Germany and France have a hinge function," stressed Le Maire.

Franco-German cooperation: Le Maire speaks of "new vigour"

Le Maire also spoke of a "new impetus in the Franco-German relationship".

There had been numerous discords in the past few weeks.

A Franco-German Council of Ministers had been canceled at short notice, and French President Emmanuel Macron had warned of Germany's isolation in Europe.

Le Maire stressed that state aid for companies must respect European rules - a reference to the German aid package of 200 billion euros, which had raised concerns in France about distortions of competition.

Both ministers again called for a “robust industrial policy response” to the US subsidy program.

The US law to reduce inflation violates the competition rules, stressed Habeck.

Germany and France therefore wanted to support a European platform for technologies of change.

The aim is to expand production facilities for wind power, photovoltaics, power grids and heat pumps.

France: Habeck and Baerbock at Macron – message to Scholz?

"Europe must learn to better defend its interests," said Le Maire.

"Europe should be careful not to become the last of the Mohicans," he added, referring to protectionist tendencies in China and the US.

Habeck pointed out that Germany is making sure that there are no strategic dependencies in trade with China.

"We are increasingly prohibiting investments in critical infrastructure," he emphasized.

Habeck was received by President Macron in the Élysée Palace in the morning, as was Baerbock the day before.

These meetings, of which no official photos were published, were seen as a friendly gesture after a somewhat cooler phase in Franco-German relations.

But they could also be an indication that Macron is expanding his contacts in the federal government, as he has still not developed a particularly close personal relationship with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).

(dpa/kat)