Today's Date:

1. President Chirac has just sent a message of congratulations to Chancellor Schröder. Mr. de Villepin, who's in Kinshasa, will be sending a message to Joschka Fischer shortly.

2. There is no important international issue that is not thoroughly discussed in Franco-German dialogue.

In the immediate future, as the president and chancellor agreed at the Schwerin summit and at our last meeting in Hanover, our two governments are going to concentrate on strengthening cooperation ahead of the 40th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty (January 22, 2003). The celebration will provide an opportunity to give new stimulus to the Franco-German relationship.

In the European sphere, we plan to consider current issues together, in particular enlargement and its financing, institutional reform and European security and defense policy.