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German Foreign Policy

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Faced with a fragmentation of the established order and an increasing number of crises, Germany is tending to reassess its position in a changing world.

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Franco-German relation faces familiar challenge ahead of Macron’s Germany trip

24 May 2024
Accroche

Franco-German symbolism, rather than bickering over policy, will briefly take centre stage when French President Emmanuel Macron meets German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Sunday (26 May) during a three-day state visit, the first in 24 years. 

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'Depth of Franco-German bond': Macron to meet German president in rare state visit

24 May 2024
Accroche

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Sunday in what is seen as the highest level of diplomatic courtesy gestures.

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How Macron and Scholz broke the Franco-German alliance at the heart of the EU

24 March 2024
Accroche

Breakdown of continental partnership is a threat to Europe – and could be catastrophic for Ukraine. It was meant to be a patching up of the notoriously fraught Macron-Scholz relationship, a “reset”, to borrow Hillary Clinton’s expression.

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“Broken” Franco-German tandem needs Tusk and Trump

15 March 2024
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As the vital relationship between Franco-German leaders Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron appears “broken”, hopes for a sustainable fix rest on the Weimar Triangle and even the return of an old nemesis.

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Macron and Scholz Meet to Patch up Their Fraying Ties

14 March 2024
Accroche

Allies fret that Franco-German animosity is undermining western unity over Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron will arrive in Berlin on Friday for talks designed to repair a fractured Franco-German relationship marred by caustic public spats and mutual recriminations over the war in Ukraine.

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In the middle of the race, the Franco-German motor seems to be breaking down

09 April 2023
Accroche

Faced with the risk of losing investments in the technologies of the future, due to subsidies that its global competitors are pumping into their economies, the European Union is forced to rethink its industrial policy.

The United States and Europe risk entering into a subsidy war, each trying to support the competitiveness of their economies… their market economies… with public money. Meanwhile, member states expect from Brussels solutions that will allow them to remain relevant in a world where interventionism is the order of the day.

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Macron and Rutte grow closer to each other through geopolitical shifts and a personal click

29 January 2023
Accroche

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague on Monday evening. He mainly hopes for Rutte's support for a European rebuttal to Biden's protectionist green industrial policy.

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Franco-German relations under pressure on Elysee Anniversary

22 January 2023
Accroche

As France and Germany celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty, there's mounting pressure for the two countries to revamp their cooperation and leadership within the EU.

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At the Sorbonne, Macron and Scholz pass the remedial oral

21 January 2023
Accroche

From the cupola of the great amphitheater of the Sorbonne, the five large medallions in monochrome representing the sciences, letters, law, medicine and theology will judge the event. Sunday January 22, in the morning, in one of the oldest universities on the continent (founded in 1253), the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz must meet Emmanuel Macron, where the French President made his great speech on Europe in 2017.

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French-German friendship ‘still alive’ as Macron meets Scholz amid tensions

26 October 2022
Accroche

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 their relationship at a time of war in Ukraine.

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EU-Mercosur: An Unsolvable Trilemma Between Competition Rules, Normative Ambitions and Supply Chain Diversification

Date de publication
03 October 2023
Accroche

The EU-Mercosur trade deal was believed to be heading toward the finish. The election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as the president of Brazil, as successor to the right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro, and the Spanish presidency of the European Union (EU), raised hopes for its conclusion. But the reservations expressed by several EU member states and some Latin American countries have dashed hopes.

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Allemagne d'aujourd'hui 2023/2 (N° 244)

DOSSIER - 60th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty (1963) and implementation of the Treaty of Aachen (2019): where do Franco-German relations stand?

Date de publication
29 June 2023
Accroche

On January 23, 2023, France and Germany celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty. This is an opportunity for us to analyze the state of relations between the two countries, and the contribution made by the Treaty of Aachen, which was added in 2019.

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Attention to the Periphery? Germany and the Pacific Island States

Date de publication
21 December 2022
Accroche

In September 2020, Germany adopted policy guidelines for the Indo-Pacific that comprehensively set out its approach towards this increasingly important region, seeking to diversify partnerships beyond China.

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Conflicts in the EastMed: From Germany’s and France’s Conflicting Strategies to a Dual Approach

Date de publication
03 September 2021
Accroche
Over the past years, the Eastern Mediterranean has become centerstage of an increasingly internationalized and militarized conflict driven by different albeit interlinked issues and an arena for a growing variety of actors to project their geopolitical ambitions.

Germany's Unnecessary Hegemony

Date de publication
22 September 2014
Accroche

Based on the realist theory of international relations, this article analyses whether Germany has any incentives to seek (regional) hegemony. It concludes that under the current systemic circumstances – in which the country's survival is ensured by the United States – Germany has no reason to become a hegemon, which is normally a strategy to escape the perils of the anarchic international system. 

Germany and the Arab Spring

Date de publication
13 October 2012
Accroche

Much of the analyses of German reactions to the Arab Spring uprisings have focused on Germany’s contentious decision relating to Libya. By siding with the critics of military intervention in abstaining from UNSC 1973, Germany vexed its allies and arguably displayed an astonishing lack of geostrategic foresight and moral rectitude.

German-Russian Relations: Balance Sheet since 2000 and Perspectives until 2025

Date de publication
01 October 2012
Accroche

The relationship between Germany and Russia, according to official portrayals in Berlin, is one of ‘strategic partnership’ supplemented by ‘modernisation partnership’. The closeness and at times demonstrative cordiality of the relations have given rise to suspicion about Germany being an advocate of Russian interests in Europe for the benefit of its economy but at the expense of Europe’s trans-Atlantic links. 

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'Depth of Franco-German bond': Macron to meet German president in rare state visit

24 May 2024
Accroche

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Sunday in what is seen as the highest level of diplomatic courtesy gestures.

Logo
the_telegraph.png
Image principale médiatique

How Macron and Scholz broke the Franco-German alliance at the heart of the EU

24 March 2024
Accroche

Breakdown of continental partnership is a threat to Europe – and could be catastrophic for Ukraine. It was meant to be a patching up of the notoriously fraught Macron-Scholz relationship, a “reset”, to borrow Hillary Clinton’s expression.

Logo
financial_times.png

Macron and Scholz Meet to Patch up Their Fraying Ties

14 March 2024
Accroche

Allies fret that Franco-German animosity is undermining western unity over Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron will arrive in Berlin on Friday for talks designed to repair a fractured Franco-German relationship marred by caustic public spats and mutual recriminations over the war in Ukraine.

Logo
cronicile.png
Image principale médiatique

In the middle of the race, the Franco-German motor seems to be breaking down

09 April 2023
Accroche

Faced with the risk of losing investments in the technologies of the future, due to subsidies that its global competitors are pumping into their economies, the European Union is forced to rethink its industrial policy.

The United States and Europe risk entering into a subsidy war, each trying to support the competitiveness of their economies… their market economies… with public money. Meanwhile, member states expect from Brussels solutions that will allow them to remain relevant in a world where interventionism is the order of the day.

Logo
nrc.png
Image principale médiatique

Macron and Rutte grow closer to each other through geopolitical shifts and a personal click

29 January 2023
Accroche

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague on Monday evening. He mainly hopes for Rutte's support for a European rebuttal to Biden's protectionist green industrial policy.

Logo
time.news_.png

At the Sorbonne, Macron and Scholz pass the remedial oral

21 January 2023
Accroche

From the cupola of the great amphitheater of the Sorbonne, the five large medallions in monochrome representing the sciences, letters, law, medicine and theology will judge the event. Sunday January 22, in the morning, in one of the oldest universities on the continent (founded in 1253), the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz must meet Emmanuel Macron, where the French President made his great speech on Europe in 2017.

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the_guardian_logo_web.jpg
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French-German friendship ‘still alive’ as Macron meets Scholz amid tensions

26 October 2022
Accroche

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 their relationship at a time of war in Ukraine.

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An Engine Replacement Could Kill Europe’s Huge F-35 Plans

03 May 2022
Accroche

If the decision to replace the engine for the F-35A is implemented, countries flying F-35s will find themselves forced into unforeseen and overly complicated supply chains.

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The State of Franco-German Relations and European Foreign Policy

01 September 2021
Accroche

The Franco-German relationship is more important than ever in order to deal with international crises and to develop a common European Foreign and Security Policy.

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Merkel and Macron betray weakness with cautious Aachen treaty

21 January 2019
Accroche

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 alliance between France and Germany, and for signs that the two countries might once again drive European integration, will be disappointed. 

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The State of Franco-German Relations and European Foreign Policy

01 September 2021
Accroche

The Franco-German relationship is more important than ever in order to deal with international crises and to develop a common European Foreign and Security Policy.

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Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2024, Ifri will support more than 70 French and foreign companies and organizations.

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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.