The founding partnership behind this week’s EU deal
Macron and Merkel defy those who had written off the Franco-German relationship
“I’M NOT FRUSTRATED, I’m impatient,” declared an evidently frustrated Emmanuel Macron in Germany earlier this year. The French president had put European integration at the heart of his election campaign in 2017. Yet even as covid-19 struck, European leaders were still unable to agree on much. France and Germany, two founding members that have guided the European Union for over six decades, were condemned, it seemed, to settle for incremental fixes. One commentator wrote of “the end of the Franco-German love-in”. In The Economist last November, Mr Macron said Europe was “on the edge of a precipice”.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Back on the tandem”
Europe July 25th 2020
- The EU’s leaders have agreed on a €750bn covid-19 recovery package
- The founding partnership behind this week’s EU deal
- After spreading covid-19, a huge European abattoir vows reforms
- A hotel developer in Athens obstructs the Acropolis
- A seaside-villa scandal sparks huge protests in Bulgaria
- Spain’s King Felipe is distancing himself from his father
- Why the EU is becoming more like a Chekhov play
From the July 25th 2020 edition
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