The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
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, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Genshagen Foundation, French-German Institute (DFI), and German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).
The Cerfa contributes actively to the emergence of a new French-German generation, most notably through Franco-German Future Dialogue.
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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Assistant
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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Associate Research Fellow, Study Committee for Franco-German Relations (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.
The development of Franco-German cooperation can be described as an intergovernmental process. Depending on the perspective, the capacity for innovation of the relationship lies either with central decision-makers at the state level or with decentralized actors at the local level.
The coronavirus crisis has affected the countries of the Weimar Triangle to varying degrees. Bilateral relations between Germany and Poland as well as Germany and France have been strongly influenced by border closures, which have led to tensions between the countries.
While the coronavirus health crisis is currently intensifying in Europe, it does not seem to be affecting France and Germany at the same pace or with the same intensity. The crisis is putting both countries' respective hospital systems to the test in different ways. France and Germany's...
The AfD - Alternative for Germany - was founded in 2013 to protest the Euro rescue policy. Originally conservative-liberal, but to the right of the CDU/CSU, the party presented itself after 2015 as the main opponent to Angela Merkel's migration policy. It...
Europe is divided in many ways. Brexit and rising nationalism are striking examples of this existing fragmentation. But what unites us Europeans? The Franco-German Future Dialogue 2019 has met fellow Europeans in thirteen member states of the European Union to discuss questions of identity. Do...
In 2018, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified 24,100 people in Germany as right-wing extremists. More than one out of two right-wing extremists is described as “violence-oriented”. These figures demonstrate the high level of threat in the German...
The numerous commitments made in the Aachen Treaty concealed a wide range of disagreements over defense, the future of the European Union, economic policies, relations with Russia, and so on.
Historically, the Franco-German “couple” provided a justification for the European project, and for the Europe that emerged from the collapse of the bipolar order.
Germany has enjoyed a decade of sustained economic growth, benefiting from a very low unemployment rate and considerable trade and budgetary surpluses. This phase is now coming to an end. Some even believe that the German economic model needs to be rethought.
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 videoconférence "Les jeudis de l'Ifri" around Eric-André MARTIN, Secretary General of the Study Committee on Franco-German Relations - Cerfa at Ifri.
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...
The Study Committee on French-German relations (Cerfa) will be analysing the German general elections held on Septembre 24th. What impact on home affairs and foreign policy will the vote have?
The Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) used to carry the promise of a paneuropean security order. It is the only Euroatlantic security organization in which the “West” and Russia can cooperate on an equal footing.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Nicolas Sarkozy used to promote himself as a transatlanticist or anglophile French president. Emmanuel Macron seems to have taken this approach a step further. Macron appears to have taken upon France and himself the responsibility of not allowing Britain and more importantly, the United...
