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Battered by trade war, Merkel begins controversial China trip

05 September 2019
Accroche

Critics fear Germany could put European unity on the line. Angela Merkel will have to tread carefully on her visit to China this week to avoid tripping over Hong Kong and stepping on Germany’s car industry. Angela Merkel will have to tread carefully on her visit to China this week to avoid tripping over Hong Kong and stepping on Germany’s car industry.

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Désinfox: no, Europe is not under Germany's rule

06 May 2019
Accroche

Since the financial crisis of 2008, has the balance of power between France and Germany shifted in favor of Berlin? Does Angela Merkel alone decide on the conduct of the European Union? The answer obviously deserves to be nuanced.

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European Elections: in Germany, traditional parties in the hot seat?

02 May 2019
Accroche

On May 26, the Germans will go to the polls to elect their MEPs. An important election for Germany, where political parties have been in the process of restructuring since the last federal election.

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Brexit pressures expose cracks in Franco-German relationship

11 April 2019
Accroche

Angela Merkel insists that the EU should avoid “putting pressure” on Britain when it comes to Brexit. After a wearying, six-hour EU summit in Brussels, the German chancellor said it was important to give the British “more space” to “make their own choices”. [...]

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Germany's Arms Export Ban Frustates European Partners

05 March 2019
Accroche

Germany's unilateral decision to halt all shipments of military equipment to Saudi Arabia has stopped 10's of billions of dollars worth of orders of joint European arms exports, bringing the question of deep arms export cooperation among European partners into high relief.

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Merkel and Macron betray weakness with cautious Aachen treaty

21 January 2019
Accroche

When Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron sign a new Franco-German treaty in the historic city of Aachen on Tuesday, there will be much soaring rhetoric about the deepening ties between the two countries. To critics, though, the Treaty of Aachen is thin gruel. Anyone hoping for a new, tighter alliance between France and Germany, and for signs that the two countries might once again drive European integration, will be disappointed. 

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Macron Seeks a Dose of Charlemagne to Renew Merkel Partnership

20 January 2019
Accroche

When France and Germany sign a treaty on Tuesday in the historic border town of Aachen, it will be the culmination of 16 months of work by French President Emmanuel Macron to bring the anchors of Europe closer.

Transatlantic relations in the age of "America First" (Sophia Besch)

17 December 2018
Accroche

An interview with Sophia Besch, Research Fellow, Center for European Reform.

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Europe de la défense : les différences persistent entre Berlin et Paris

17 February 2018
Accroche
The « coalition agreement » signed between Conservatives and Social Democrats in Germany on February 7th does not reveal any details on military matters. Officially, defence cooperation is working perfectly well between Paris and Berlin.
 
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Macron wants a powerful EU

16 February 2018
Accroche

French President Emmanuel Macron is accelerating EU defense cooperation. The biggest obstacle are the French-German cultural differences. Can terrorism, Trump and Putin force closer military cooperation in Europe? Yes, says Barbara Kunz, research fellow at the French Institute for International Relations (Ifri) in Paris and expert on defense cooperation in the EU.

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Digital Transformation of the Industry: The Franco-German Challenge

Date de publication
07 December 2018
Accroche

The issue of the digital transformation of the industry provoked in France as in Germany the return of the state and the introduction of a subsidiary industrial policy. Feeling threatened in its industrial leadership, Germany mobilized its resources through industry 4.0 by building a vision around the concept of “cyber-physical system” before developing in each Land an accompanying offer. France has forged the concept of the industry of the future by following a logic of modernization of the production tool, reinforcing particularly the automation and building on the integration of new technological bricks.

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Between political crisis and European recovery attempt: German interrogations

Date de publication
03 September 2018
Accroche

Even though the CDU-CSU led Grand Coalition was renewed following the German legislative elections of 24 September 2017, and even though Angela Merkel was re-elected chancellor a fourth consecutive term, the country has entered a period of growing political uncertainty. The formation of a new government took much longer than after previous elections for a number of different reasons: after negotiations, the liberal party refused to join a coalition with the CDU-CSU and the Green party, the SPD was reluctant to continue in government, and, above all, the internal divisions of the two sister parties CDU et CSU, that nearly caused the fall of the new government three months after its investiture.

France, Germany and European defence: more pragmatism and less pathos, please

Date de publication
12 January 2013
Accroche

At the time of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Elysée treaty in January 2013, the Franco-German defence cooperation is not at its best.

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Dual system of professional training: keystone of "made in Germany"?

Date de publication
11 July 2018
Accroche

The German dual system of professional training is seen as an international reference model. It aims at training qualified employees for an innovative economy rather than being the last resort for less able pupils. Parents and adolescents regard apprenticeships as an entry ticket to a good job with career opportunities; companies value the advantages of practice-oriented training in situ conceived in cooperation with its own professionals as this spares them the costs of integrating school graduates.

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Beyond ‘pro’ and ‘anti’ Putin: Debating Russia Policies in France and Germany

Date de publication
31 January 2018
Accroche

Attitudes vis-à-vis Russia expressed in the public sphere are heterogeneous, in France more so than in Germany. In both France and Germany, the general public is by and large skeptical of Vladimir Putin and his policies. The picture is more diverse in the political realm. In Germany, there (still) is an approach that might be qualified as “mainstream”. The French debate, in turn, is highly fragmented.

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Decarbonizing Germany’s Power Sector: Ending Coal with a Carbon Floor Price?

Date de publication
14 December 2017
Accroche

Germany has a long tradition of climate policy programmes with ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and comprehensive climate and energy policy packages.

This target-driven policy approach is, however, increasingly facing challenges due to the lack of progress on greenhouse gas emission reductions in key sectors, i.e. the power, the transport and the building sector. 

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Meeting Macron in the Middle. How France and Germany Can Revive the EU

Date de publication
09 May 2017
Accroche

Macron's presidency offers a rare chance to revive the French-German relationship just when Europe needs it most.

Germany's Unnecessary Hegemony

Date de publication
22 September 2014
Accroche

Based on the realist theory of international relations, this article analyses whether Germany has any incentives to seek (regional) hegemony. It concludes that under the current systemic circumstances – in which the country's survival is ensured by the United States – Germany has no reason to become a hegemon, which is normally a strategy to escape the perils of the anarchic international system. 

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Germany: Being European in a Renationalising Europe

Date de publication
01 March 2016
Accroche

The times when the German population met the EU with almost unconditional and passive support might be over, but it is still convinced that any step backwards would entrain even bigger damages for Germany’s stability, peace and wealth.

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Germany and the Eastern Partnership after the Ukraine Crisis

Date de publication
29 January 2016
Accroche

The conflict in and about Ukraine has catapulted the European Union's Eastern Partnership (EaP) into the limelight of international attention. Belittled as a bureaucratic and technical policy instrument, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the EaP as its Eastern regional dimension have within the course of a few months gained unexpected geopolitical significance. 

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