Germany, France must break taboos to advance on European reforms - Macron

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Germany, France must break taboos to advance on European reforms - Macron

 

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel speak to reporters ahead of their meeting in Berlin, Germany, November 18, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

 

BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron called on Sunday for Germany and France to dig deeper as allies in their bid to spearhead a more united Europe, including by overcoming lingering scepticism on issues such as a euro zone budget.

 

Macron has long championed a vision for a more integrated euro zone, including through a joint budget.

 

With European Parliament elections looming next May, the French president has also urged pro-EU forces to rally and take concrete policy steps in a bid to fend off anti-immigrant, nationalist parties on the rise in several member states.

 

In a speech to the German lower house of parliament on Sunday at an event honouring war victims, Macronsaid the onus was on France and Germany to pursue those efforts.

 

"This new phase can be scary as we will have to share, pool together our decision-making, our policies on foreign affairs, migration and development, an increasing part of our budgets and even fiscal resources, build a common defence strategy," Macron said at the Bundestag.

 

"We have to overcome our taboos and overcome our habits."

 

France and Germany are already expected to lay out plans on Monday for a limited joint euro zone budget, which will be focused for now solely on financing investment, according to French finance ministry sources.

 

That means it will steer clear for now of more controversial elements, like plans to use the budget to help euro zone countries in economic downturns.

 

But Macron is also pushing for progress in other areas of integration, including on plans to tax internet giants which Berlin has grown hesitant on.

 

CROSSROADS

Macron, who later met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin for talks, evoked a world "at a crossroad" in his speech, pitting nationalist movements "with no memory" against more modern, progressive ones.

 

"Europe, and within it, the Franco-German alliance, has the obligation not to let the world slip into chaos," he said.

 

Macron had last week warned against the perils of nationalism at commemorations in Paris to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, sparking an outcry from U.S. President Donald Trump who blasted the French leader on Twitter days later.

 

Earlier on Sunday Macron joined Merkel and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to place wreaths at the site of the Neue Wache war memorial in Berlin.

 

"You made clear with an impressive speech how important the German-Franco friendship and cooperation is, and what it role it plays in the European context," Merkel told Macron before their meeting at the chancellery.

 

"You said we are at a crossroads ... and this is exactly what I perceive," she said. "Those of us born after the war are responsible for the lessons that we learned."

 

Merkel said she and Macron would discuss a wide range of issues including new tax structures for the digital age, migration and efforts to expand European defence cooperation.

 

(Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey, Sarah White and Andrea Shalal; editing by David Evans)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-19

[TPI]

France and Germany are historical enemies! The leaders of both countries are on the "slide" and are desperate to gain some kudos for themselves...pushing an euro-centrist financial arrangement is going to hurt both countries but, who cares? They'll both get seats on the boards of their major banks so it'll work out just fine...for them!

[guest879]

'Nationalism' is on the rise. A rational response I would say when you look at the rapid change of demographics in European countries. In Germany 42% of children under the age of 6 are immigrants. The western world is changing at an incredible rate. Quite the opposite of the Aryan policy that was implemented last century.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, TPI said:

France and Germany are historical enemies! The leaders of both countries are on the "slide" and are desperate to gain some kudos for themselves...pushing an euro-centrist financial arrangement is going to hurt both countries but, who cares? They'll both get seats on the boards of their major banks so it'll work out just fine...for them!

We don't live in the 1940's anymore. People and societies evolve. It's well known that cooperation works better than fighting wars for 'pride of some leaders'. Hence we have, for example, EU, which allows us all to work together in peace. 

[TooPoopedToPop]

Both Macron and Merkel allowed displacement level immigration transform their countries for the worse.

Now they are in a hole that they dug themselves.

Edited November 19, 2018 by TooPoopedToPop

[Opl]

2 hours ago, TPI said:

France and Germany are historical enemies! The leaders of both countries are on the "slide" and are desperate to gain some kudos for themselves...pushing an euro-centrist financial arrangement is going to hurt both countries but, who cares? They'll both get seats on the boards of their major banks so it'll work out just fine...for them!

Egoistically, small european nations  better have interest at playing collectively a greater role.

Is there an example in History where disunion in challenging times and hostile ground allowed a small group to be stronger? 

The US - who has other concerns - is pushing for the end of the EU, Central Europe trusts only Trump against Putin, Italy becomes the spearhead of Eurosceptics, not mentioning Brexit. …fine…

The question is: what do we do in case of low-intensity (hopefully) conflict?

In case of aggression, do you prefer to have two or three friends even puny, but who will help you for sure, or a single heavy one with only a 50% chance to get helped?

The US dislike Europe, whose influence is linked to its powerlessness .

Europe must be able to assume its security alone. If the US helps us, all the better, if not… too bad.

 

Edited November 19, 2018 by Opl

[Baerboxer]

1 hour ago, oilinki said:

We don't live in the 1940's anymore. People and societies evolve. It's well known that cooperation works better than fighting wars for 'pride of some leaders'. Hence we have, for example, EU, which allows us all to work together in peace. 

 

But do the people of the countries withing the EU want to have a centralized, super state, controlling everything through armies of bureaucrats, with a big central budget, funded through taxes under their direct control?

 

Such a state worked out wonderfully well for the USSR,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, oh, hang on

[Baerboxer]

1 hour ago, TooPoopedToPop said:

Both Macron and Merkel allowed displacement level immigration transform their countries for the worse.

Now they are in a hole that they dug themselves.

 

Merkel for sure. But to be fair to Macron the damage to France was before his time. 

[Retiredandhappyhere]

1 hour ago, oilinki said:

We don't live in the 1940's anymore. People and societies evolve. It's well known that cooperation works better than fighting wars for 'pride of some leaders'. Hence we have, for example, EU, which allows us all to work together in peace. 

Historically, these unions of nations were either held together by force (e.g. the Soviet Union and China) or they eventually fall apart as some form of real democracy takes effect.  This will happen to the EU too, as soon as people become weary (as the UK did) of being led into a deeper and deeper political union which was originally designed to be merely a 'Common Market".

 

It is clear that the EU is dominated first by Germany and now by a weakened Germany and France, who together are trying to lead the other 25 nations into a United States of Europe, with a common currency, budget and army.  Already there is a rise in the populist movement in most countries and this movement will increase and eventually lead to more countries following the UK's example, even though it might be economically painful at first for a few. 

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Retiredandhappyhere said:

Historically, these unions of nations were either held together by force (e.g. the Soviet Union and China) or they eventually fall apart as some form of real democracy takes effect.  This will happen to the EU too, as soon as people become weary (as the UK did) of being led into a deeper and deeper political union which was originally designed to be merely a 'Common Market".

 

It is clear that the EU is dominated first by Germany and now by a weakened Germany and France, who together are trying to lead the other 25 nations into a United States of Europe, with a common currency, budget and army.  Already there is a rise in the populist movement in most countries and this movement will increase and eventually lead to more countries following the UK's example, even though it might be economically painful at first for a few. 

Does your prediction also include that United Kingdom and United States of America are also destined to be break at some point? London is UK's Brussels and Washington DC is the same for USA. 

 

What if we people, who think we are Europeans, would like to keep our union and would like to live together in peace? The same way you feel that you are a Brit and would like the UK to stay together. 

 

Naturally nothing is certain. 

 

 

[JAG]

7 hours ago, oilinki said:

What if we people, who think we are Europeans, would like to keep our union and would like to live together in peace? The same way you feel that you are a Brit and would like the UK to stay together. 

 

Then keep it. The most pertinent point, however, perhaps is whether the EU as currently structured will ever allow it's various peoples to express an opinion on this matter. Their reaction to the UK's decision rather suggests not...