Professor Daniel Göler (standing) welcoming the panel guests at the round table in the Senate Hall in the Nikolakloster of the University of Passau.
There have been better times in Franco-German relations. In 2019, for instance, when the two EU nations signed the Aachen Treaty, an agreement designed to deepen their ties, including in military matters. The pictures of that moment showed a smiling Chancellor Angela Merkel alongside a contented President Emmanuel Macron.
Today, five years and several crises later, the situation in Europe has fundamentally changed. The geopolitical landscape of the European Union has shifted. The challenge of responding effectively to dynamic security concerns, along with the EU’s aspiration to act as a global actor, has ushered in a new geopolitical era in its foreign, security, and defence policy. Against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, a deeper Franco-German partnership in defence and security policy is now more crucial than ever. Yet, relations with France are perceived as having cooled under Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “Is the Franco-German engine brain-dead?” asked moderator and political scientist Florence Ertel her two discussants from France and Germany: Alexandre Vulic, Consul General of France in Munich, and political scientist Mathias Jopp, Senior Advisor of International Programmes at the Institute for European Politics in Berlin and Honorary Professor at the University of Passau. They were participants in a public round-table discussion held, fittingly, at a round table in the Senate Hall of the Nikolakloster at the University of Passau. The event was organised by the Science Hub for Europe together with the Jean Monnet Chair for European Politics, whose holder, Professor Dr. Daniel Göler, welcomed the guests.
Deutsch-französische Gesprächspartner auf dem Podium (von rechts: Alexandre Vulic, Generalkonsul Frankreichs in München, Florence Ertel, Geschäftsführerin Science Hub for Europe Universität Passau und Prof. Dr. Mathias Jopp, Senior Advisor International Programmes Institut für Europäische Politik Berlin).
The French Perspective
In her question, moderator Ertel alluded to the words of the French President, who in 2019 described NATO as brain-dead and questioned the alliance’s loyalty to the USA in light of the Trump administration. Chancellor Scholz’s Zeitenwende in foreign and security policy following Russia's attack on Ukraine was, according to Consul General Vulic, a development “very much welcomed from our perspective.” He emphasized how essential Germany is as a partner: “We need a new phase in our relations; we need to discuss nuclear deterrence and the potential NATO membership of Ukraine,” he said. Germany’s European policy expert, Jopp, found his views fully aligned with those of his French counterpart. Europe’s position is dire, with Russian President Vladimir Putin to the east and the potential return of Trump to the west. “If Trump returns, Europe will find itself in a sandwich position,” Jopp warned, stressing the urgency for Europeans to develop their own deterrent: “The Aachen Treaty needs to be brought to life.” Across Europe, there is a yearning for Franco-German leadership. Yet, the term “strategic partnership” is hardly appropriate at the moment; it is more like “muddling through,” criticized the political scientist.
The Importance of Differences
A participant in the round table highlighted the significance of differences: “The logic of the Franco-German engine relies on our distinctiveness,” she noted, suggesting that these differences are essential for getting the engine running. It is even more significant when different partners can find common ground. She argued that a clear framework is needed for a robust European pillar within NATO. She also called for an understanding of the German public, which finds it challenging to shift from a pacifist state to a defensive one. “We are witnessing a disruption that people need time to process,” she explained, noting that the French public is ahead on this matter.
Franco-German Research Project on Geopolitics
Das Organisationsteam vom Jean-Monnet-Lehrstuhl für Europäische Politik und dem Science Hub for Europe der Universität Passau mit den Gästen (von rechts: Daniel Göler, Audrey MacLean, Kateryna Pivnenko, Jakob Dehner, Florence Ertel, Mathias Jopp und Alexandre Vulic).
The round-table discussion was part of an international conference within the interdisciplinary Franco-German research project La France et L'Allemagne au retour de la géopolitique, involving researchers from Passau, Angers, Berlin, Bern, Budapest, Grenoble, Metz, Strasbourg, and Würzburg. Funded by the Centre Interdisciplinaire d’Études et de Recherches sur L’Allemagne (CIERA), this project examines the changes in security policy discourse in France and Germany in response to the EU’s geopolitical shift in foreign, security, and defence policies. The project focuses on the perception of geopolitics, exploring areas of convergence, divergence, or even discrepancies between the two countries among decision-makers and civil society. Using concrete case studies, particularly in the context of the 2024 European Parliament elections, the researchers analyze the perception of terms such as “geopolitics,” “Europe as a power,” “strategic autonomy,” “strategic sovereignty,” and “geopolitical Europe.” Their work identifies shared views and differences on current geopolitical challenges in both countries to assess the potential for common EU positions in these areas.
Professor Daniel Göler
Where is the European Union going?
Where is the European Union going?
Professor Daniel Göler holds the Jean Monnet Chair of European Politics at the University of Passau. His research focuses on all matters concerning European integration. Naturally, this involves academic networking across the globe. At the same time, the chair makes European political topics accessible to the general public by organising events and publishing the Jean Monnet Papers.
