Angela takes the oath and goes to Paris. Is the Franco-German engine starting up again?
(B2) German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was sworn in for her fourth term on Wednesday (March 14) after being applauded in the Bundestag, will travel to Paris shortly.
Re-elected Chancellor after six months of political paralysis, she will be received " late Friday afternoon [March 16] for a work session with the French president, said the Elysée. Angela Merkel had indicated on Monday that she would be going to Paris to " preparing for the European Council » of March 22 and 23 and « provide clarity on what is considered the next step ". She will be preceded in Paris from this Wednesday (March 14) by her new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, who will be received by his counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Paris and Berlin have promised a common impetus to relaunch the European Union, in the midst of the rise of populism. But Germany, which fears above all to pay the debts of its partners, responded only vaguely to French ideas for a budget and a finance minister for the euro zone.
Comment: The now well-established Franco-German tradition that the first official trip of a newly elected leader is therefore respected. But in this speed, Angela Merkel, shows how much she intends to make cooperation with France, particularly in economic matters, the priority of her mandate.
(NGV with AFP)