German Chancellor Angela Merkel underlined a “very great proximity” between Germany and France in her weekly podcast posted on Saturday, before marking the 50th anniversary of the Franco-German Elysée Treaty on Tuesday in Berlin, according to AFP. “I feel we are very close”, she said to a young German man and a French young woman who asked what she thought about the Franco-German relationship. She mentioned the fact that there are some divergent opinions, but “when we have come together, then mostly a good new solution has come out of it.”
Franco-German relations do not seem to be perfect, however, especially after the election of François Hollande, who has some obvious disagreements with Merkel, particularly about political solutions to the crisis in Europe. In her message, the German Chancellor said that the fight against youth unemployment is her main task, as this is an imperative condition for the young people to consider Europe their homeland. She called for an improvement in labor market mobility, a crucial issue for Germany which, faced with a lack of workforce, is trying to attract skilled workers, especially from the southern countries of the eurozone, still in crisis.
A rapidly aging population, with a moderate rate of unemployment (6.8% in late 2012), make the German government to fear a shortage of people at a working age, which could reach six million by 2025. Merkel suggested organizing a system of social protection in order to allow those who worked some years abroad to receive good coverage, including the pension in another country. She also proposed a joint development of a growth strategy that will also allow the creating of jobs in the EU. This means more economic cooperation within the European Union than there is for the moment, especially in the area euro.
While Germany is the engine of the European economy, Wolfgang Schauble, Finance Minister said today that “In foreign policy Germany no longer wants to be a big power. How could we be, after Hitler and Auschwitz?” He added: “We are not refusing to take responsibility but we have a different relationship with military power.”
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