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Translated from the French
The two authors firstly congratulate France and Germany on their recent rapprochement in view of the European Council. This was the first such joint initiative with Angela Merkel since the election of François Hollande, taking the approach again that had characterised the best days of the Franco-German cooperation. It was time to make genuine efforts again to take things forward, not least to deal with the natural and legitimate differences in approach between the two governments, but also to find viable compromises for future European policies.
The authors further explain that Europe will only progress if joint decisions are made that result from a prior "rapprochement of the German and French positions". All progress made in finding a solution to the crisis in the euro area was a direct result of such a negotiated common position. For example, the German government had to trade in some of its initial rigidity concerning the stability pact and had to admit that during a major economic crisis more time is needed to return to a balanced budget. The French government in turn eventually accepted the fiscal pact and acknowleged the need to reduce public debt. It was also recognised in France that only structural reforms would pave the way to regained competitiveness and sustainable growth.
But by strengthening the intergovernmental coordination, the risk of competition between the two branches of the executive in economic terms (Council vs Commission) is rising. This leads to the question of how those two can be reconciled. Thanks to the French-German rapprochement and due to the crisis itself, many taboos are now falling away: in the realm of political union, budgetary federalism, banking, economic and monetary union. These discussions should be deepened to speed up the implementation of reforms necessary for citizens to regain confidence in the European institutions, the authors conclude.
Full article (in French)