The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) was founded by an intergovernmental treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic in 1954. It has analyzed relations between the two countries for over 60 years. The Cerfa engages in a wide range of activities. It promotes the Franco-German debate and policy-oriented research through conferences and seminars that bring together experts, policy-makers, decision-makers and civil society representatives of both countries.
The Cerfa publishes regularly books reflecting on the current state of Franco-German relations and two research note series – Notes du Cerfa and Visions franco-allemandes – that target primarily French decision-makers, with the aim of elucidating political, economic and social evolutions in contemporary Germany, and closely following current developments in Franco-German relations.
The Cerfa maintains close relations with the network of German foundations and think-tanks, including the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Heinrich Böll Foundation, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Genshagen Foundation, French-German Institute (DFI), and German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).
The Cerfa contributed actively to the emergence of a new French-German generation, most notably through Franco-German Future Dialogue (2007-2020).
Secretary General of the Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
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Research Fellow, Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
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Research Fellow, Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
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Assistant
Associate Research Fellow, Study Committee for Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
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Counselor on Franco-German relations at Ifri
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Associate Research Fellow, Study Committee for Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
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In the context of increasing awareness of the climate crisis, environmental parties across the EU obtained high scores in the European elections of May 2019, reaching 20% in Germany, 17% in Ireland, 16% in Finland and 13 % in France. Meanwhile, far-right parties gained strength.
Since 2018, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU - Christlich Demokratische Union) has been confronted with a long-lasting leadership crisis. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Merkel’s favorite candidate for the position of party leader, was not able to maintain herself at the top of the...
The handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by the German government and health system has globally been perceived as a success because of a relatively low death rate.
The COVID-19 crisis has not only revealed a world that has moved into an age of interdependence and competition, it has also laid bare Europe’s strategic loneliness and vulnerability.
In the Aachen Treaty in 2019, Germany and France agree to deepen their "common program in defense matters" and to pursue a common vision in terms of arms export. These are the preconditions that will help consolidate a culture of common armed forces, common interventions, and European defense...
In its judgment of 5 May 2020, the German Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe questioned the conditions under which the European Central Bank (ECB) had adopted a Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP), thus contradicting the position taken by the Court of Justice of the European Union...
As international relations are increasingly reorganized around the US-China rivalry, the tensions between these two great powers are shaping a growing number of sectors, and the exchange of sensitive technologies in particular. This is a critical issue for European companies today. <...>
Compared with other European countries, Germany’s management of the COVID-19 crisis has been efficient. Its health system has successfully coped with the challenge of the fight against the pandemic, the impact on employees has been mitigated thanks to allowances dedicated to furlough leave,...
On October 3, 1990, after forty years of division, Germany once again became one state. Less than a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, on November 9, 1989, the territories of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) became part of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) under Article 23 of its...
Germany joined the creation of Economic and Monetary Union only with great hesitation and has tried to dictate the spirit and rules of operation of the Union.
Online Seminar - French-German Workshop for the Future
As demonstrated by the current negotiations over the new European Africa strategy, 2020 is a milestone for the relationship between the two continents.
Before the Covid 19 crisis, the German presidency had set an ambitious agenda for EU-China relations, in particular with the prospect of an EU-China summit in Leipzig in September.
Ahead of Germany's EU Council presidency and amidst debates over the EU recovery plan and 2021-2027 budget, what happens in Berlin critically matters.
A "Les Jeudis de l'Ifri" videoconférence around Eric-André MARTIN, Secretary General of the Study Committee on Franco-German Relations - Cerfa...
Discussion with Birgit Sippel, MEP, and Éric-André Martin, Secretary General of the Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) at the French Institute of International...
The Think Thank 7 (T7) is an engagement group that brings together the leading Think Tanks from the G7 countries in order to analyze and make recommendations on key issues of the G7 presidency.
Following the extraordinary meeting of the Eurogroup on the 19th November, negotiations on the development of the euro area are entering a new phase. The question on the solidity of the Eurozone concerning the Italian budget as well as the French-German proposal for a Eurozone budget are on...
In the light of a more demanding security environment, but also a rare momentum for further European integration, Berlin and Paris are challenged to take their security and defence cooperation to the next level, bilaterally as well as in the EU. Progress in Franco-German security and...
The French-German Future Dialogue 2017 was joined by ten Polish participants in Warsaw for a last seminar on the future risks for Foreign Policy of the European Union. The...
Cyprus is set to be ‘remade’ in the coming years through €1 billion in grants from the European Recovery Plan, as we’ve reported here, but there are a few issues to be resolved along the way, according to EU policy experts and economists.
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The European Union’s chief antitrust official, Margrethe Vestager, has made her name tackling big corporate fish in pretty unconventional ways. A ruling on Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which came with a seven-figure fine, argued free services weren’t always good for the consumer, while...
Germany's Ursula von der Leyen nominated to lead EU Commission.
The Think Thank 7 (T7) is an engagement group that brings together the leading Think Tanks from the G7 countries in order to analyze and make recommendations on key issues of the G7 presidency.
Since the financial crisis of 2008, has the balance of power between France and Germany shifted in favor of Berlin? Does Angela Merkel alone decide on the conduct of the European Union? The answer obviously deserves to be nuanced.
On May 26, the Germans will go to the polls to elect their MEPs. An important election for Germany, where political parties have been in the process of restructuring since the last federal election.
Angela Merkel insists that the EU should avoid “putting pressure” on Britain when it comes to Brexit. After a wearying, six-hour EU summit in Brussels, the German chancellor said it was important to give the British “more space” to “make their own choices”. [...]
Germany's unilateral decision to halt all shipments of military equipment to Saudi Arabia has stopped 10's of billions of dollars worth of orders of joint European arms exports, bringing the question of deep arms export cooperation among European partners into high relief.
When Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron sign a new Franco-German treaty in the historic city of Aachen on Tuesday, there will be much soaring rhetoric about the deepening ties between the two countries. To critics, though, the Treaty of Aachen is thin gruel. Anyone hoping for a new, tighter...
When France and Germany sign a treaty on Tuesday in the historic border town of Aachen, it will be the culmination of 16 months of work by French President Emmanuel Macron to bring the anchors of Europe closer.
