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Germany (Cerfa)

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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-tanksincluding 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).

Through its successive interactive and ad hoc cooperation programs, the Cerfa promotes the emergence of a new Franco-German generation:

  • In the year 2021, the Cerfa started a Program on Multilateralism with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Paris. This program aims at creating a Franco-German network bringing together young professionals interested in the topic of multilateralism in the context of their work. It consists in working sessions based on briefings and workshops with selected experts and practitioners covering a broad range of issues relating to multilateralism, such as international trade, health, human rights and migration, non-proliferation and disarmament.

Previous initiatives: 

  • The Franco-German Future Dialogue co-organized by the Cerfa together with the DGAP and with the support of the Bosch Foundation aimed at creating a new Franco-German generation by developing exchanges and debates between French and German young professionals and PhD students.
  • The Daniel Vernet Group (formerly the Franco-German group of reflection) had been founded in the Fall of the year 2014 at the initiative of the Genshagen Foundation.
Éric-André MARTIN

Secretary General of the Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)

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Marie KRPATA

Research Fellow, Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) 

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Jeanette SÜẞ

Research Fellow, Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) 

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Hans STARK

Counselor on Franco-German relations at Ifri

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05/07/2023

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01/06/2023

During the economic and financial crisis in 2008, during which the West was severely weakened, the ties between the Western Balkans and China were particularly close. For these countries, turning to China meant to secure new destination markets for their exports and to guarantee new...

30/03/2023

The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) looks back with pride on the history of its Ostpolitik, which it sees as having paved the way for German reunification. With the firm will to continue this Ostpolitik after the end of the Cold War, SPD politicians of the last 20 years have...

07/12/2022
By: Sandra PARTHIE

In response to Russia's illegal attack on Ukraine, EU member states have issued a series of economic sanctions against Russia. This also includes moratoria on certain products, e.g., in the energy sector.

13/10/2022

The EU’s basic assumptions, on which it grounds its economic and trade power, are being steadily cast into doubt. The EU’s main trade partners, the US and China, increasingly set their sights on securing their supply chains, which may further a potential decoupling. 

03/10/2022

Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the Bundeswehr has been led to refocus on territorial defense and collective security, which constituted the core of its activity for decades. This evolution break with the long period of efforts during which the Bundeswehr painfully tried to...

29/09/2022

The current geopolitical situation has disrupted the European and global order, which were both consolidated in the 1990s and have been key factors in the modern German model. The Franco-German duo is currently facing new challenges and it will have to respond appropriately in a time when the...

11/07/2022
By: Patricia COMMUN

The German manufacturing industry at the heart of the German economic activity has been confronted in the past years with conjunctural shocks, which question its existence on the German territory: the energy transition which hinders it in the short term to resort to fossile energy from Germany...

23/06/2022

Germany, despite the reluctance of its public opinion, is committed to supporting security in the Sahel, notably through its participation in the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM) and recently in Niger, and in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in...

05
Jun
2019
Wednesday 05 June 2019
from 09:30 to 18:00 - Seminars and Round-table Conferences

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.

23
Jan
2018
Tuesday 23 January 2018
from 18:00 to 19:30 - Seminars and Round-table Conferences

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...

26/10/2022
By: Marie KRPATA , quoted by Angelique Chrisafis in The Guardian

Two leaders under pressure to repair relations after rifts over defence, energy and China. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, hosted the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, for lunch on Wednesday as they sought to iron out significant differences on energy and defence that have weakened...