Franco-German friendship should never become just a routine — not even decades after the signing of the Elysee Treaty by French president Charles de Gaulle and West German chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1963.

Every generation of politicians and every new generation of French and German youth must work hard to earn this friendship. Those who harbor even the slightest doubt as to the key role that Germany and France play in European unity should visit the shocking Douaumont ossuary: the remains of 130,000 soldiers from many different nations who died on the Verdun battlefield during World War I. In 1984, French President Francois Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl met at this very cemetery and stood hand in hand — a picture of reconciliation that went around the world.

Numerous military cemeteries in France, Belgium, and Germany attest to the past enmity between Germany and France. Out of the graves of the two world wars there grew a reconciliation which began in the late 1940s with the foundation of the first Franco-German associations and culminated in the bilateral accord in 1963.

It helps to put current problems in regular German-French political relations into perspective if one reflects on the very beginnings of the Franco-German friendship and the vision of French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman in the 1950s.

Solid cornerstone

It does not matter whether the German chancellor and the French president get along well on a personal level. What matters is that the people meet, that students get a feel for their neighbors, that the languages are studied and that the soldiers serve together, that there is trade, and that tourists can visit Berlin and Paris without stopping at borders — and can carry a common currency in their pockets. 

There have always been phases marked by misunderstandings or disenchantment over the past decades. Even de Gaulle and Adenauer were not bosom buddies all the time. Chancellor Willy Brandtand President Georges Pompidou did not like each other. President Mitterrand and Chancellor Kohl were not immediate friends.

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and President Jacques Chirac only agreed over the need to distance themselves from the US. The only real friends were Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and President Valery Giscard d'Estaing — well advanced in years, they continued to work for Europe together — even after they had left office.

What goes around comes around

What matters is that thanks to the Elysee Treaty, consultations and negotiations continue at the working level. The treaty's clauses on foreign and defense policy have not even been fully implemented yet, and that calls for even more coordination. It is true that France and Germany currently differ in their approach to many crises, but the overall direction remains the same: More Europe!

No matter which political party or coalition calls the shots in either country, France and Germany must and will continue to be the motor of the EU. It is what all the politicians on the Spree and on the Seine want — and their European neighbors are well aware of it. They may complain that the Franco-German duo dictates terms, but if the two nations fail to lead, they complain that Europe has lost its sense of direction. It will always be difficult for German chancellors and French presidents to balance expectation and demand.

The close cooperation between Germany and France can serve as a role model for other countries that have not yet fully resolved their conflicts. One does not have to roam far: just look at the Balkans. Shouldn't it be possible to reconcile Serbs and Kosovans, Bosnians and Serbs, Macedonians and Greeks, Turks and Cypriots? Robert Schuman's vision must apply to all European states and possibly even beyond: making war between nations impossible by forging close ties. "Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan," said Schuman in a declaration in 1950. "It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity."

That is the goal towards which one must continue to work for — over and over again.

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