France, Germany, and the Quest for European Strategic Autonomy: Franco-German Defence Cooperation in A New Era
How can France and Germany contribute to reaching the goal of European strategic autonomy? This key question has been guiding the work with the present report. In the light of a more demanding security environment, but also a rare momentum for further European integration, Berlin and Paris have to take their security and defense cooperation to the next level, bilaterally as well as in the EU.
Progress in Franco-German security and defense cooperation is a key step towards strategic autonomy with its three dimensions: political, operational and industrial autonomy. Political autonomy has so far been neglected in Franco-German security and defense cooperation. Past cooperation was almost exclusively linked to the operational, sometimes industrial levels. The new impetus needs to be embedded in a farther reaching political dialogue. This can best be achieved by elaborating a Franco-German White Paper on Security and Defense. At the operational level, the primary objective for Paris and Berlin is to enable Europeans to autonomously carry out the Petersberg tasks, as defined in article 43(1) of the Treaty of Lisbon. Nevertheless, the type of capabilities needed must be derived from a political analysis of the strategic environment and the threats posed. The same accounts for industrial autonomy where France and Germany should work towards closer cooperation and shared rules embedded in a political dialogue.
With seven concrete recommendations, the paper aims to contribute to establishing strategic autonomy, starting at the bilateral level to provide leadership for an ambitious European project.
About the authors:
Ronja Kempin, Senior Fellow, Research Division EU/Europe, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin.
Barbara Kunz, Research Fellow at the Study Committee on French-German Relations (Cerfa), Institut Français de Relations Internationales (Ifri), Paris.
The recommendations in this report are the result of a joint project by the Institut Français de Relations Internationales (Ifri) and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). Directed by the two authors, it gathered a distinguished group of French and German security and defence policy experts for three workshops in Berlin and Paris in 2016 and 2017. This report and its recommendations are based upon the group’s discussions. The list of participants can be found at the end of this publication.
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France, Germany, and the Quest for European Strategic Autonomy: Franco-German Defence Cooperation in A New Era
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
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.
Franco-German Relations Through the Lens of Donald Trump’s Second Term: Between Strategic Realignments, European Sovereignty, and the Enduring Transatlantic Bond
Donald Trump’s return to the presidency of the United States in 2025 acts as a powerful catalyst for the Franco-German relationship. Faced with growing uncertainty over the reliability of US security guarantees, Germany, more directly affected by the questioning of the transatlantic relationship, is gradually moving closer to the French position in favor of strengthening European strategic sovereignty.
MAGA and AfD: Toward a Transatlantic Alliance of Nationalist Right-Wing Parties
The rapprochement between Donald Trump’s MAGA movement and Germany’s AfD has accelerated significantly since Trump’s return to the White House.
VW, Mercedes, and BMW in the Face of Donald Trump—A Tightrope Walk Between Investing in the U.S., Maintaining Operations in Europe, and Catching Up in Electric Mobility
The German automotive industry faces a threefold challenge: competition from China; a difficult transition to electric vehicles; and US tariffs.
A Partnership Built on Security: Post-Brexit Rapprochement between Germany and the United Kingdom
Since the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, UK-German relations have undergone a remarkable transformation: from Berlin’s deliberate distancing from London during the Brexit negotiations, when Germany consistently prioritised EU-27 unity over bilateral arrangements, to a gradual rapprochement, culminating, for the time being, in the 2025 Kensington Treaty of Friendship.