German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron insisted Friday that building a «strong» Europe requires more investment in the Armed Forces as well as in the European defense industry.
On the eve of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the treaty to repair Franco-German ties and the ministerial meeting in Paris on Sunday, both have defended this idea in an article published in the German daily ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’.
«We will strongly advocate an ambitious strategy to promote the competitiveness of European industry and a European environment that fosters competition and innovation,» Scholz and Macron have said.
They have also pointed out that it is essential that an «enlarged» European Union, referring to the open club accession processes, must remain «able to act with more efficient institutions and faster decision-making processes», in particular with the extension of qualified majority voting in the Council.
This article was published on the same day that the German government has not unblocked the supply of battle tanks to Ukraine in the framework of the meeting of the countries of the Contact Group for Ukraine at the Ramstein military base in Germany.
The supply of tanks has been the focus of international attention in recent days, as Berlin has in its hand to authorize the re-export of tanks to Ukraine, as requested by Poland and the Baltics.
Apart from the shipment of tanks to Kiev, Macron and Scholz have had disagreements in recent years and, although both have the objective of strengthening European capabilities, there is still no real progress in joint arms projects.
In fact, Germany is seeking to implement a better European air defense system in collaboration with 14 other countries, including France, which, according to Berlin, fears a possible arms race.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
