Franco-German cooperation
The Cabinet welcomed an important foreign visitor to its meeting today at the Federal Chancellery – French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. This was in line with an agreement laid out in the Treaty of Aachen signed at the start of the year.
1 min reading time
At least once every three months, "a member of the government of each country should attend a Cabinet meeting in the other country, with a different member of the government attending each time". That is what Germany and France decided in the Treaty of Aachen. French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has now got the ball rolling.
Franco-German cooperation
The French visitor at the Cabinet meeting is a sign of closer Franco-German cooperation in the fields of foreign, security and development policy, and close coordination of European policy.
The Cabinet meeting addressed European and foreign policy issues. It was also agreed that the projects laid out in the Treaty of Aachen will be implemented swiftly and ambitiously.
Working together in the UN Security Council
The Cabinet also discussed good Franco-German cooperation within the UN Security Council and their joint efforts to promote strong multilateralism. The main focus in this context is on strengthening international humanitarian law and the role of women in conflict resolution and transformation.
Close coordination on European policy decisions
As of the European elections in May, important European policy decisions will have to be taken and the scene set: the European Council will need a new strategic agenda for the next five-year period, a new European Parliament will meet for the first time in July, a new Commission will be appointed in November, and a new President of the European Council will take up his or her post in December. In this, Franco-German coordination is crucially important.