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The French president met with the new leader of the German Executive at the Elysee Palace in the framework of his first visit abroad in his new position. Both discussed the steps to follow on the continent, where they found salvageable differences in terms of the advancement of the green wave and the use of nuclear energy. Furthermore, they reaffirmed the “inviolability” of the Ukrainian border. The German leader will continue his agenda in Brussels and the French will speak with Vladimir Putin.
After the official end of the Angela Merkel era as a benchmark for German politics and being a transcendental piece on the scene of the European Union, it was time for Olaf Scholz to begin his history as Chancellor.
In that beginning, the first movement was to move to Paris, where he was received by Emmanuel Macron, one of the heavyweights of Europe who can gain a lot of power and ground after Merkel’s departure, both within the continental organization and in the relationship bilateral with Germany.
At the Elysee Palace, the French head of state opened the doors to “dear Olaf”, as he called him in the joint press conference they gave after meeting alone.
In his media attention, Macron said that for the last four years he has been working with Merkel to strengthen Franco-German ties. “I know that we will continue with Olaf in this close collaboration,” he predicted.
However, the French and the former German chancellor maintained different perspectives on issues such as, for example, the role of nuclear energy in financing the green wave, something that with Scholz they downplayed.
Welcome to Paris, cher @OlafScholz, pour ta première visit à l’étranger. Heureux de te recevoir. Nous sommes tous deux attachés à notre Union, à notre Europe. Pour les Français, pour les Allemands, pour les Européens, ensemble. pic.twitter.com/J8qT94jSyo
– Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 10, 2021
Paris intends for nuclear energy to be considered essential and to build new reactors on Gallic territory, but in German planning the decision to eliminate them was firm and the closure of the last nuclear power plant was projected for the short term.
However, the agreement signed by the new government coalition is not so blunt in this regard, which was taken as a positive sign to review the position later.
Scholz affirmed that each country manages its “own strategy to combat climate change” and stressed that they are united by recognizing responsibility. “Germany has decided that it will bet on an expansion of renewable energies,” he announced.
“There is a consensus on the inviolability of the EU’s borders”
In their conclave, they disagreed on important points, such as the relevance of imported Russian gas in Germany, the ways to defend Europe and relations with other economic giants, such as China.
Also, Macron and Scholz reaffirmed the need to maintain peace in Europe and “avoid any useless escalation”, in the words of the French leader.
In addition, they highlighted the will to work together to calm the situation on the Ukrainian border after Russia deployed tens of thousands of military personnel and heavy weapons, which set off alarms in the European Union.
“There is a consensus on the inviolability of the EU’s borders, it is a principle that we must all respect,” said Scholz. To this, Macron added that “it is the will of everyone, Europeans and Americans” to be vigilant that there is no further escalation and recalled “the importance of Ukraine’s stability.”
They highlighted the intervention of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to establish communication with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and dissuade him to find a quick resolution.
Chancellor Scholz’s agenda will continue with a meeting next week with the President of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelenski, on the sidelines of what will be the NATO-European Union summit in Brussels, where he will also attend. While Macron said he had a communication with Putin agreed.
With EFE, Reuters and AP
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