French and German parliamentarians proclaim unity after the differences between their governments

BERLIN, Nov. 8 (DPA/EP) –

The president of the German lower house, Barbel Bas, highlighted on Monday the importance of Franco-German cooperation in times of crisis by presiding over the eighth session of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly in Berlin.

“We must maintain cohesion and unity in Europe, we must not allow them to divide us,” Bas, of the Social Democrats, signed. “The close Franco-German cooperation has become even more important in this situation,” he added, according to the DPA agency.

Bas has acknowledged that Germany and France have different approaches on some issues, referring to President Emmanuel Macron’s recent criticism of Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz’s energy and defense policies.

However, he has pointed out that despite the fact that both States have “different interests” they are “legitimate” in each case. “That is part of a true friendship. Our strength has always been to turn these differences into progress for Europe,” said the President of the Bundestag.

The president of the French National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet, has also referred to the discord, stating that whatever difficulties may arise regarding “some issues or the evaluation of the current moment”, both countries have the experience of that we can discuss and overcome it together”.

Speaking before the session, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock detailed that Franco-German solidarity was “the reason why the European Union was able to remain united against Russia in the face of its invasion of Ukraine”, as and how the aforementioned agency has been able to collect.

“We are facing great challenges that we can only overcome together,” he added.

The Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly is made up of 100 members — 50 members of the Bundestag and 50 members of the French National Assembly. The deputies meet at least twice a year, alternately in Germany and France.

Macron and Scholz have been involved in recent months, especially since the start of the war in Ukraine, in a series of disagreements regarding European defense policies and also in energy matters.

In fact, one of the last disagreements between the two had Spain as a luxury spectator, since it was about the already frustrated MidCat project. Madrid and Berlin were betting on having the gas pipeline operational by 2025, while Paris rejected it.

In terms of defense, Macron and Scholz have also had disagreements and, although both have the objective of strengthening European capabilities, there is still no real progress in joint weapons projects.

Germany seeks to implement a better European air defense system in collaboration with 14 other countries, including France, because, according to what they point out from Berlin, a possible arms race is feared.

Despite all this, the German government has refused to recognize the discord between Berlin and Paris, something that the French president himself has admitted, who has gone so far as to point out that the Franco-German relationship, two of the most influential countries in the European Union, needed a reset.