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Captain in the Storm: Challenges and Opportunities for the German EU Council Presidency

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Notes du Cerfa
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The German Presidency of the Council of the European Union begins on July 1, 2020 at a time of acute crisis. It is facing unprecedented challenges and organizational constraints in a context marked by high expectations from its European partners.

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Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel arrives for a meeting with European Union leaders in Brussels Belgium on Dec. 14, 2017.
Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel arrives for a meeting with European Union leaders in Brussels Belgium on Dec. 14, 2017.
Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock.com
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The purpose of this paper is to present the aims that Berlin has set itself and the room for maneuver at its disposal. After outlining the revised priorities of the German Presidency, it focuses on the debate on strategic independence and, in this context, on the relationship with China. Finally, it analyzes the conditions for German leadership at a moment when the Federal Government is facing conflicting expectations from its partners: it concentrates more specifically on Franco-German cooperation.

 

Claire Demesmay is head of the “France/French-German Relations” program at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin. 

 

This publication is available in French: “Capitaine dans la tempête : défis et enjeux de la présidence allemande du Conseil de l’Union européenne”. (pdf)

 

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The Pariser Platz (Paris Square) on the east side of the Brandenburg Gate at Berlin, Germany
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
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The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) was created in 1954 by an inter-governmental agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and France, in order to raise awareness of Germany in France and analyze Franco-German relations, including in their European and international dimensions. In its conferences and seminars, which bring together experts, political leaders, senior decision-makers and representatives of civil society from both countries, Cerfa develops the Franco-German debate and stimulates political proposals. It regularly publishes studies through two collections: Cerfa notes and studies as well as Franco-German visions.

 

Cerfa maintains close relations with the network of German foundations and think tanks. In addition to its research and debate activities, Cerfa promotes the emergence of a new Franco-German generation through original cooperation programs. This is how in 2021-2022, Cerfa led a program on multilateralism with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Paris. This program is aimed at young professionals from both countries interested in the issues of multilateralism in the context of their activities. It covered a wide range of themes relating to multilateralism, such as international trade, health, human rights and migration, non-proliferation and disarmament. Previously, Cerfa had participated in the Franco-German future dialogue, co-led with the DGAP from 2007 to 2020, and supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation and the Daniel Vernet group (formerly the Franco-German Reflection Group) which was founded in 2014 upon the initiative of the Genshagen Foundation.

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A Franco-German “Reset”? The Ambitions of the Franco-German Council of Ministers. Challenges of Joint Leadership in Europe

Date de publication
27 August 2025
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As a Catholic from the Rhineland, Friedrich Merz is heir to the CDU’s Franco-German policy, from Konrad Adenauer to Helmut Kohl and Wolfgang Schäuble. While Franco-German rhetoric and reflexes are deeply ingrained in him, their results must nevertheless be put into perspective.

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Social Policies in Germany. Assessment of the “Traffic Light” Coalition and Prospects for the New Government

Date de publication
08 July 2025
Accroche

Notes du Cerfa, No. 188, Ifri, July 2025 — The defeat of the “traffic light” governing coalition in the snap parliamentary elections of February 2025 calls for an initial – necessarily selective – assessment of the social policies implemented during its term. 

Arnaud LECHEVALIER
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The “Huawei Saga” in Europe Revisited: German Lessons for the Rollout of 6G

Date de publication
02 June 2025
Accroche

While the European Union attempted to coordinate a collective response through its 5G Toolbox in Europe’s 5G infrastructure, member states diverged significantly in balancing political, economic, and technological considerations. Germany, despite its economic ties to China and status as Europe’s largest telecom market, only reached a tentative agreement in July 2024—one that appears largely symbolic. 

Tim RÜHLIG
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France, the U.S. Oldest and Most Complicated Ally: A Stubborn Defender of a Truly European Industrial and Defence Policy

Date de publication
10 April 2025
Accroche

France, the U.S.’ oldest ally, is also the EU country which most stubbornly defends genuinely European industrial and defence policies. It calls for ‘strategic autonomy’ in all political domains, a position increasingly difficult to hold against a hardening international climate.

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Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel arrives for a meeting with European Union leaders in Brussels Belgium on Dec. 14, 2017.
Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock.com

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