Today's Date:

Chancellor Adenauer and General de Gaulle

The Elysée Treaty, signed forty years ago between France and the Federal Republic of Germany by General de Gaulle and Chancellor Adenauer, sealed the reconciliation between our two nations and laid the foundations of a lasting peace in Europe.

It was this will to forge closer ties between France and Germany which gave rise to the European Economic Community, starting with the Schuman-Adenauer Declaration of May 9, 1950, followed by the establishment of the ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) and the creation of the Common Market in 1957.

The document of January 22, 1963 was not originally supposed to take the form of a treaty, but remain a simple written notification of the main areas in which our two countries had agreed to relaunch their cooperation. This explains its brevity (19 articles in total). It was the common declaration, signed at the same time, which was intended to give political force to the text.

Basically, it is a framework document, referring on many points to arrangements to be made subsequently (for example, regarding the Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ - Office franco-allemand pour la Jeunesse). It laid down the major objectives of Franco-German cooperation and set out the institutional rules for their implementation. It rests on two key provisions:
- a binding schedule of regular meetings at every level (heads of State and government, ministers, senior civil servants) designed to instigate an instinctive desire for cooperation;
- a field of cooperation focused on three areas: foreign affairs, defence, and education and youth.

There has been only one modification of the Treaty, through two protocols signed on January 22, 1988, on its 25th anniversary, creating two new structures:
- the Franco-German Defence and Security Council
- the Franco-German Economic and Financial Council.

The Elysée Treaty brought about France and Germany’s historic reconciliation by forging ties between the two countries' young people and developing the feeling that the Franco-German relationship is both necessary and special. It constitutes an essential symbolic point of reference.

The 40th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty (January 22, 1963) provides an opportunity to appraise the results of the Franco-German cooperation which it has initiated.
There are many achievements in a host of spheres.
The Treaty has also ushered in an era of unprecedented cooperation between our two countries. It has given a decisive boost to the task of building Europe. Our close dialogue and cooperation in the spheres of the economy, research and technology, culture and education are encouraging an increasingly high level of exchanges between our societies.

Many cooperation mechanisms and structures already exist, such as the six-monthly summits, the informal “Blaesheim process” meetings [decision to hold regular joint meetings taken at the Franco-German Blaesheim summit in January 2001], exchanges between civil servants and many institutions such as OFAJ, the Franco-German High Council for Cultural Affairs, Franco-German University (Université franco-allemande [a network of French and German higher-education establishments created in 1999, with many campuses and an administrative headquarters in Saarbrücken). To give just one example, OFAJ, which will be celebrating its 40th anniversary on July 5, 2003, has provided the opportunity for over seven million young people to meet each other.

Today, it is right to pay tribute to those involved in this dialogue: local authorities, schools, universities and voluntary organizations. Franco-German cooperation has been a source of innovation and has led to the establishment of original bi-national institutions including the ARTE television channel created at the end of the 1980s, which foreshadowed the European cultural television channel, and the Franco-German University. It has also blazed a trail in some essential spheres. Here it is appropriate to single out the role played by the Franco-German Brigade which has served as the basis for the European Corps.

While the end of the Cold War and German unification marked the beginning of Europe's reunification, the achievements of forty years of cooperation augurs well for France and Germany’s ability to take up the new challenges of globalization and pursue the task of building Europe at the time of the European Union’s historic enlargement.

As President Chirac declared at the November 2001 Nantes summit, when the Franco-German engine is running smoothly, Europe moves forward, while it stagnates when the relationship between France and Germany marks time. This is the spirit in which, at the last Franco-German summit held in Schwerin (30 July 2002), President Chirac and Chancellor Schröder expressed their determination to reach common positions at the forthcoming major European decision-making meetings. Accordingly, they have submitted joint contributions on the European Security and Defence Policy (CFSP) and on Justice and Home Affairs issues to the Convention on the Future of Europe.

They are together preparing a common position on the European Union's institutions in the run-up to the Elysée Treaty’s 40th anniversary. The political declaration adopted at the Paris summit, the role of injecting momentum into the European enterprise, which France and Germany are determined to go on playing, particularly in the framework of the European Union's enlargement.

Drawn up by the two Foreign Ministers, at President Chirac and Chancellor Schröder’s request at the Schwerin summit, this declaration will signal the overhaul and deepening of the Franco-German relationship. Accompanied by concrete measures of cooperation, it will demonstrate our countries' role as the engine of Europe.

Bearing a strong political message, the text, going beyond the achievements of Franco-German cooperation since 1963, is structured around three major ambitions:
- the determination together to promote tomorrow's Europe;
- the definition of an area of enhanced cooperation and identification of the priority fields of cooperation (foreign and security policy, economy and finance, development, research, culture and media, education and youth, administration and legislation);
- strengthening our consultation process.

At a time of EU enlargement, France and Germany are determined to work together to build a more democratic Europe, which is more effective and stronger on the international stage.
The Elysée Treaty remains the powerhouse enabling the two countries to take up this challenge together.

The celebration of the Elysée Treaty’s 40th anniversary coincides with the 80th Franco-German consultations. Numerous events are planned in Paris and Berlin for January 22 - 23, as well as throughout the year.

Other events run inter alia by civil society groups and the regional authorities of the two countries, as well as a variety of cultural events (organized by the Embassy, the Direction générale de la coopération internationale et du développement (DGCID – International Cooperation and Development Directorate-General) and the Franco-German High Council for Cultural Affairs), are scheduled throughout 2003. These events will be identified by a 40th anniversary logo.

All over the world, all French and German embassies and consulates will together organize events to celebrate the Elysée Treaty’s 40th anniversary, illustrating the vitality of Franco-German cooperation./.