Today's Date:

(…)

– We have ahead of us some very important tasks for our two countries: of course the Schwerin Summit at the end of the month. We have the major issues currently facing Europe for the preparation of the Brussels and Copenhagen Summits. We also have the prospect of celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the Elysée Treaty. You could say we've got a very heavy agenda, and it's very important for us to tackle it together, with the concern to give a new boost to Franco-German relations. As you know, President Chirac has expressed the wish to renew the Franco-German founding pact and this is certainly the spirit in which we're addressing the two great challenges confronting Europe: enlargement, of course, and the reform of the institutions in the framework of the Convention on the Future of Europe, chaired by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. We're geared up to address these challenges. (…) We're also keen, in this informal framework of ours, to discuss international issues, not just the crises which worry us: the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan, relations between India and Pakistan, but also such global developments as the world's environmental problems in the run-up to Johannesburg, prospects of building an international code of ethics like the International Criminal Court, problems of solidarity and relations between North and South. There's a whole host of issues. (…)

– As regards policy on the Middle East, I think French and German views are extremely close. I would remind you that the idea of the International Conference was at the heart of the Seville European Council declaration. (…) In this respect, we're all working with the same end in view, the same objective, which is to hasten the achievement of peace and stability in the region, which obviously requires the creation of a Palestinian State living in peace and security in the region. (…)./.

Embassy of France in the United States - July 23, 2002