Europe’s Futile Search for Franco-German Leadership
Recent foreign-policy differences have underlined the diverging interests of the European Union's two most powerful member states. And even if France and Germany were to march in lockstep, a bloc of 27 states bound by a unanimity requirement will never be a strategic actor.
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HAMBURG – For decades, France and Germany have been known as Europe’s ruling “tandem” or “couple,” even its “engine.” Together, they aimed to work to unify the continent. But, to pile up the metaphors, the French want to drive the jointly leased Euro-Porsche, while the Germans insist on rationing the gas money. As a long list of crises – from Belarus to Nagorno-Karabakh – now shows, the two countries are not following the same road map.