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3 months ago
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With the EU set for a new five-year term, the bloc’s powerhouses France and Germany insist that their economic priorities – featuring a heftier EU budget and less regulated industries – be considered first and foremost.
To conclude the first official state visit of a French President to Germany since Jacques Chirac in 2000, Emmanuel Macron joined the German government north of Berlin to deliberate on EU affairs – and sign an agenda-setting joint declaration.
“We are formulating a new agenda for the EU,” explained Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The declaration, titled “A New Agenda to Boost Competitiveness and Growth in the European Union,” is the culmination of months of transnational ministerial work on tackling red tape and boosting the economy.
With EU leaders set to decide their five-year strategic agenda in late June, this joint declaration by the bloc’s two largest member states is expected to frame the discussions in Brussels.
The agreement “provides a good framework for the European Commission and the next five years,” explained Macron, recounting the pressures currently weighing on the bloc, from war to a rise in imports from the US.
It stresses: “Europe must not fall behind,” pledging to carry forward the European Green Deal as well as industrial strategies while tackling policy areas seemingly forgotten, namely “pollution and biodiversity”, in a way “that supports economic momentum in Europe.”
EU budget up, red tape down
Macron also used his visit to Germany to call for a doubling of the EU budget – a jolt for Berlin, its biggest net contributor.
“We will make the EU budget fit for the future,” the joint declaration stressed, adding that France and Germany would continue work on setting up “new own resources” for the bloc’s dedicated budget, which means revenues raised directly at EU level through joint avenues, rather than through member state contributions.
Europe’s chemical industry—which includes firms such as German chemical giant BASF—got a special mention owing to its “crucial importance for almost all industrial sectors in Europe.” The two countries urged Brussels to be careful when regulating the sector.
Without mentioning the EU’s central chemical industry regulation REACH, delayed late last year amid industry pushback, Paris and Berlin stressed the need for a “risk-based approach” rather than “using broad product bans.”
Macron and Scholz also rubber-stamped a 2023 plan to slash red tape by creating a special company category for firms with 250 to 500 employees, among other criteria.
The usual calls to foster a Capital Markets Union, deepen the Banking Union, and strengthen the single market also featured prominently.
Loud on decarbonisation, quiet on how
On energy, the two heads of state stressed their similarities to brush over their largest divergence—the clash on nuclear vs renewable energies—by focusing on where they agree: the need for a “decarbonised energy system.”
With the 2030 and 2050 climate targets already set in law, the two professed the will to “work together to find common ground on the future EU Climate and energy framework for 2040:”
The two countries strongly advocate for a 90% climate target for 2040 but stress that decarbonisation should not result in companies leaving Europe.
That means boosting the EU’s climate border tariff – the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or CBAM – and continuing dialogue with countries in the German-led Climate Club – something the Chancellery insisted be included.
‘NATO alone won’t save us.’
These were Macron’s words as he received a peace price in Münster earlier that day, and they found their place in the joint declaration, which stressed “stepping up investment in security and defence” while boosting “defence readiness and resilience.”
Macron lauded the Franco-German tank project, which progressed in April, as well as the European aircraft of the future.
“Franco-German cooperation plays a key role here,” he added.
[Edited by Chris Powers/Anna Brunetti/Alice Taylor]
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