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French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a meeting in Paris in October
Photo:
Christophe Ena / AP
In a guest article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that they want to strengthen Europe.
Against the background of the Ukraine war, Scholz and Macron outlined the key points for a sovereign Europe in which people can live in peace, prosperity and freedom.
"For a strong Europe tomorrow, we must now invest more in our armed forces and in the foundations of our defense industry in Europe," they wrote.
This improves defense capabilities and also makes Europe a stronger partner for the United States.
The reason for the guest article is the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty and the Franco-German ministerial meeting on Sunday in Paris.
There is a crisis between Berlin and Paris
Recently there has been increased tension between Berlin and Paris, which is due to different interests in energy, economic and defense policy.
For example, Macron pushed ahead with arms deliveries to Ukraine, although there had previously been agreements with the USA, Germany and Great Britain.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil then told Die Zeit that he did not know why Macron had pushed ahead.
The signal to Ukraine and especially to Russia "would certainly have been even stronger" if Germany, France and the USA had announced their decision on this matter at the same time.
The guest article in the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" is not just about the Ukraine war.
"We will strongly support an ambitious strategy to promote the competitiveness of European industry and a European environment that stimulates competition and innovation (...)", it says.
With a view to the Western Balkans, rapid and concrete progress in the EU enlargement process is being sought.
"At the same time, we must ensure that an enlarged European Union remains capable of acting, with more efficient institutions and faster decision-making processes, in particular by expanding qualified majority decisions in the Council."
And Scholz and Macron also took up the issue of climate.
In order to become the first climate-neutral continent in the world, renewable and low-carbon energies and the use of hydrogen should be used.
»We will work on making the electricity market work better and participate in joint gas purchasing at European level.«
hba/dpa
