Olaf Solz’s first trip leads to Paris

The semiology of the new chancellor’s first visit to France is clear: Berlin and Paris want to coordinate their pace for more Europe.

Answering a question from the TV show reporter about where he is planning his first trip abroad, Olaf Solz said without hesitation: “to Paris”. And this will happen. The new German Chancellor on the third day of his term goes to Germany’s most important European partner, in neighboring France. Of course, Olaf Solz will not set foot in the Elysian presidential palace for the first time. Memories of his meetings as Merkel’s vice chancellor and finance minister and as a partner in Bruno Lemer’s French counterpart are still strong. “For us, Soltz represents continuity and predictability,” said Christoph Arendt, a member of parliament for the ruling LREM party.

French joy for the new government

But in essence, France has a positive attitude towards Soltz. “I think Paris was very pleased to read the government’s programmatic agreement on Europe, foreign policy and security policy,” said Ronia Kempin of the Science and Politics Foundation. “Mainly because the new German government wants to build a strategically autonomous Europe. That is, a Europe that is able to unanimously formulate a foreign and security policy. “In many ways, the government agreement looks like a belated response to Macron’s outstretched hand in Germany,” said Paul Morris of IFRI. “It is clear that France has been frustrated with Merkel’s Germany for years.

In September 2017, in his speech at the Sorbonne, President Macron presented an ambitious plan for the future of Europe. “The Europe we know is very weak, very slow, very inefficient, but only Europe gives us room for maneuver in this world when it comes to great challenges.” Macron’s proposal? More Europe. His hope? Let Germany stand up, stand by France and shape a common European future. But no answer was given. Mainly because Germany did not want to take a big step towards European integration.

Breaking taboos or differentiated integration

“With the new federal government we will be able to achieve more common goals in European policy than before,” said Ronia Kempin. The new government’s government program includes more than seven pages of radical goals and investment plans for the whole of Europe. It is probably inconceivable that this should be supported by Europe’s neighbors, especially with regard to Poland or Hungary. Theoretically, these states could block reforms. However, the agreement also states that it is not desirable to wait for those who want to slow down: “We will give priority to Community procedures, but where necessary, we will move forward with individual Member States,” the program agreement states. “It did not belong to the political DNA of the previous government to refer to the so-called differentiated integration,” Kabin observes.

But now for the smaller groups of the so-called willing this becomes possible. This is the innovation that France has been waiting for. The coalition agreement also attaches great importance to Franco-German relations. “On page 136 there is a reference to the Parliamentary Assembly,” said Christoph Arendt, who is on the IFRI board, expressing his satisfaction. “It’s a strong message that the future German government is taking this Convention very seriously and that we can also overcome obstacles through other levels of cooperation.”

Every marriage has its points of disagreement

However, seemingly insurmountable issues remain. Like the sensitive issue of nuclear energy. There is no change in German plans to withdraw from nuclear power. The new German coalition has set a goal of generating 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. But at the same time, it strongly supports the exit from nuclear energy. In France, authorities believe that climate goals can only be achieved through the best, modern nuclear energy. Paris faces the new Finance Minister Christian Lindner, a proponent of strict fiscal policy, with skepticism or even fear.

As head of the ruling FDP, reforming the European Stability Pact towards greater flexibility in public debt is becoming an elusive dream. Thus France and the countries of southern Europe and on the other hand Germany together with the so-called frugal countries (Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark) are in complete opposition. But these are differences that go back to the distant future. First, France takes over the rotating presidency of the EU for 6 months on 1 January 2022. And second, in April, France votes for a new president. The outcome is open. In this small window of three months, Germany and France can launch major European projects. Therefore, Olaf Soltz’s visit to Paris is more than a polite visit to the city of light. The time for a new Europe is pressing.

Louisa von Richtenhofen

Edited by: Irini Anastassopoulou

Source: Deutsche Welle