French President Francois Mitterand (left) and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (right) joined in a symbolic ceremony of reconciliation at the World War I battlefield of Verdun (France).

Forty years ago, January 22, 1963, President Charles de Gaulle of France and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer of Germany signed a treaty of friendship, which set the seal on reconciliation between the Germans and French in an historically disputed Europe. No other treaty has had such a direct and lasting effect on the co-existence of two nations. This treaty, named the "Elysee Treaty" after the place in which it was signed, has not only had considerable effects on the political future of Germany and France, it has also had a decisive influence on the development of Europe in the 40 years since its creation.

This friendship treaty does not limit co-operation to diverse political contacts between heads of state and government, ministers, members of parliament and ministry officials, but extends far into the area of economics and civil society.
France and Germany are each other's most important trading partners and labour markets outside their own borders. The societies of both countries have the closest links through youth exchange programmes and town partnerships, German-French associations, encounters in the areas of profession, leisure and academia, and not least through countless personal friendships, relationships and marriages.

Meeting of Jacques Chirac, president of the French Republic (left), and Gerhard Schroeder, German Chancellor, July 30, 2002 in Schwerin.

POLITICAL RELATIONS

Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (left) and President Giscard d'Estaing (right) brought the French-German co-ordination machinery to its smoothest running. Here they are captured at a meeting on February 4, 1977 which laid the basis for the European Currency Union, a predecessor of the present common currency, the Euro.

After a period of coming to terms with the past, common policy on Europe is now the priority.
The functions of the special relations between France and Germany are irreplaceable while their differences in political approaches have regularly proven fruitful for European integration. Compromises achieved by France and Germany, sometimes after long struggles, have been adopted by European partners. Progress has often been made in this way in Europe. It is not the differences at the beginning that are decisive, but rather the productive handling of such differences. This is what lies at the centre of the particular role of German-French relations as a driving force in Europe.

French President charles de Gaulle (right) and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer embrace after signing the Treaty on Co-operation and Friendship (Elysée Treaty) on January 22, 1963.

Cooperation between the governments is extraordinarily close and greatly institutionalised. To name just a few examples:
. half-yearly government consultants (summits), which, since 1999, have focused on current topics of society in both countries and therefore go beyond simple cooperation between governments,
. the French-German Security and Defence Council;
. the Councils for Economic, Financial and Environmental Affairs; and
. the co-ordinators for German-French co-operation, which devote most of their attention today to the field of civil society
Exchange and co-ordination between the two countries, probably without parallel in international relations as regards intensity, are further strengthened by
. staff exchange between both foreign ministries and other ministries;
. close co-operation between German and French embassies in third countries;
. joint projects to optimise consular services; and
. close and trusting co-operation between the armed forces.

As a result of close co-ordination, the politicians of both countries have come closer together on important regional and other political issues (eg South east Europe and the Balkan question or the EU's Mediterranean policy).
Parliamentary relations are also being strengthened through a series of measures. Among these are:
. joint, working sessions of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French Assemblee Nationale and the German Bundestag;
. regular exchange of opinion between German and French political parties;
. annual meeting of the committees of the German Bundestag and the French National Assembly;
. formation of friendship groups in the French Senate and National Assembly and in the German Bundesrat and German Bundestag; and
. exchange programmes for parliamentary assistants.
The European Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is an important aim for Germany and France. Both countries have played a pioneering role in defence policy by founding a joint French-German combat unit, the Eurocorps, and both are actively participating in the creation of a European Security and Defence Policy. With the establishment of the joint armaments procurement agency OCCAR, Germany and France took an important step towards the creation of a European armaments procurement agency. France and Germany are each other's most important partners in international co-operation on armaments.

ECONOMIC RELATIONS

France and Germany are by far each other's most important trading partners. In 2001, Germany exported 11 per cent of its exports to France, while France sold 14 per cent of its total exports in Germany. The strong trading relationship has led to significant direct investments in both countries. At the end of 2000, the volume of German direct investments in France was Euro 23 billion, and France had invested Euro 29 billion in Germany. In the years following German reunification, France was the leading country of origin for foreign investments in the former East Germany. Numerous French-German mergers in the high-tech sector contributed to this development (eg Rhone-Poulenc and Hoechst to form Aventis; DASA and Aerospatiale-Matra to form EADS; Framatome and the nuclear energy division of Siemens AG to form Framatome ANP).
Due to the intensive links between the two national economies, which together are attributable for more than 50 per cent of the Euro-Zone's economic output, there are strong similarities in economic, financial and social policy. Close and consistent co-operation and co-ordination take place between the countries like regular bilateral meetings between ministers for economics and finance.

INTER-COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL RELATIONS

Since the 1950s and in particular, since the signing of the Elysee Treaty probably the densest network of social relations possible between two countries has arisen between Germany and France. Of central importance to these relations are: the youth exchange programme co-ordinated by the Franco-German Youth Office (150,000 participants annually and seven million participants since 1963), the town and regional partnerships (2,000 in total) and the school partnerships (around 5,000).
In the field of culture, there are numerous projects focusing on general school education, vocational training and higher education. These projects are initiated and managed by various French-German expert committees and the German-French Secretariat for Exchanges in Vocational Training in Saarbrucken. They aim to strengthen the "European abilities" of young people in both countries and offer the younger generation greater mobility to cross borders in professional life.
In 1999, the French-German University was founded in Saarbrucken. As an association of German and French member universities, it offers German-French education in more than 100 subjects with a double degree on completion, without actually running any teaching or research programmes itself. An initiative of the university is the student fair and job exchange, "German-French Forum", which is held each year. Most recently, it was held in Mainz in October 2002 and had 8,000 visitors.

THE FUTURE OF SPECIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY

German-French cooperation remains of particular significance today, as the European Union's enlargement to the east is moving into its concrete phase. Understanding for the common positions on reforming EU institutions and agreement on the controversial questions of the future of the common agricultural policy, smooth the way towards a "Europe of 25". Germany and France continue to function as a driving force and innovator within Europe, whether by working out common areas of intensive co-operation and proposing these to their European partners, or by continuing to work productively with contrasting positions and find feasible compromises.

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