Olaf Scholz and Elisabeth Borne sealed the warming of Franco-German relations on Friday, after weeks of dissonance, with an energy agreement supposed to “guarantee” their supply.
“The more difficult times are, the more important cooperation between Germany and France is,” argued the German Chancellor during a joint press conference with the French Prime Minister.
Ms. Borne, for her first visit to Berlin as head of government, for her part advocated a “unity that must be maintained” in the face of the multiple crises facing the Franco-German couple.
These statements came to conclude an intense ministerial ballet in recent weeks on both sides of the Rhine, after tensions which had led to the postponement of the Franco-German Council of Ministers in October.
“Adversity”
The warming materialized on Friday with the signing in front of the objectives by the two leaders of an energy “solidarity agreement” between Paris and Berlin.
Concretely, the agreement provides that France helps Germany via gas deliveries.
The latter in exchange will support its neighbor to “secure its electricity supply”, according to the joint statement.
The electricity deal “secures” France for December and January, a French government source said.
“Friends support each other in adversity”, summarized Mr. Scholz, Ms. Borne welcoming an “important text which will have concrete consequences and which will protect the citizens of both countries”.
France has already been delivering gas to Germany since mid-October which, in turn, could bring forward to November (instead of January) the increase in its electricity exchange capacities, which will allow France to receive more.
Due to the shutdown of many nuclear reactors, this is the first time in 42 years that France is a net importer of electricity. For Germany too, the turning point is historic, because the country used to import its gas from Russia.
However, the two countries remain divided on the idea of capping gas prices. And Germany’s aid plan of 200 billion euros for individuals and businesses in the face of soaring prices makes its neighbors fear a distortion of competition.
Paris and Berlin have also sought to display a common front against Moscow. The two countries “will support Ukraine until the end” of the conflict, Ms. Borne also repeated, on behalf of the two countries regularly criticized for the supposed timidity of their support for kyiv.
The Prime Minister also met Robert Habeck, environmental vice-chancellor in charge of the Economy and the climate, already received on Tuesday in Paris in a rather unprecedented way by the French president, who also spoke with the German Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock.
“We did well to postpone the Franco-German Council of Ministers to have consistent elements in January”, summarizes a French diplomatic source.
This Council of Ministers should finally be held around January 22, which will mark the 60e anniversary of the Élysée agreement between the two countries.
“The start of the school year has been difficult for everyone. There was a little tension that remotivated everyone, and that way we move more, ”adds the same source.
“Together, we are stronger” in particular “to face the climate transition and to ensure that between China and the United States, there is a third power which is called Europe”, had already affirmed Thursday the French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, receiving the German Minister of Finance Christian Lindner.
Breaking the deadlock
Paris and Berlin have also shown themselves eager to “accelerate” European industrial projects in the face of the massive investment plan of the United States (Inflation Reduction Act, IRA), likely to distort competition and on which Ms. Borne and Mr. Scholz want a common European response.
However, these tensions have brought certain projects out of the impasse, such as the political agreement reached between the industrialists Dassault and Airbus on the European combat aircraft project (SCAF), even if no signing of contracts was planned for Friday.
Mr. Scholz said he was “confident” on Friday about the realization of this project.