Event report

The first online citizens’ dialogue from the series “Europe — We Must Talk!” after the Bundestag elections took place on 13 October 2021 at 7:00 p.m. and dedicated itself to Franco-German relations. More than 160 people, including three junior ambassadors from the German-French Youth Agency (DFJW), discussed the topics of EU foreign policy, enlargement policy, strengthening democracy and the state of Franco-German cooperation. Dr Hans-Dieter Lucas, Ambassador of Germany to France and Monaco, and Sabine Thillaye, President of the Committee on European Affairs of the French National Assembly, spoke and answered. The event was framed by the Secretary General of the Europa-Union Germany, Christian Moos, and the President of the Union des Fédéralistes Européens (UEF) France, Ophélie Omnes, who gave a greeting or closing speech. Our media partner, the online youth magazine "treffpunkteuropa.de", reports on his website about the online citizens’ dialogue "With a new momentum? The Franco-German tandem and the future of Europe" of 13 October 2021. Here is a short excerpt: “Already at the beginning of the discussion, participants were given the opportunity to evaluate the speed of travel and thus the working speed of the Franco-German tandem. According to this sentiment test, a little more than half of the participants considered the cooperation to be too slow, the second largest part being rather average. [...] Nevertheless, the German Ambassador Dr. Hans-Dieter Lucas, Ambassador of Germany to France and Monaco, emphasised the numerous successes of Franco-German cooperation: From the Normandy format, the Africa Dialogue, to the EU Recovery Fund and the new Aachen Friendship Treaty; the list of concrete successes should not be hidden. They represent important steps and prove “some dynamism and substance”. [...] Sabine Thillaye, President of the Committee on European Affairs of the French National Assembly, knows well this institutional exchange. It sees above all advantages in the regular meetings, including between the Assemblée Nationale and the German Bundestag, through the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly: “Here we develop a good understanding of different parliamentary methods, which definitely improves relations. German-French cooperation is also always a question of mentality." The fact that the two countries have different mentalities and political styles became clear not least in communication during the pandemic. While Macron tried to mobilise his population with the statement “We are at war”, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier replied in his Easter address 2020: No, this pandemic is not a war. [During the Citizens’ Dialogue, three junior ambassadors of the DFJW were also given the opportunity to present their volunteer work at local level to strengthen the Franco-German network. They also made a strong appeal to the EU in view of the crisis in Afghanistan. France and Germany in particular would have to align their foreign policies more closely with universal values such as democracy and human rights. While Ambassador Lucas stressed that the EU would defend these values in dealing with countries such as China, Russia or Belarus, if necessary, with the help of sanctions, Sabine Thillaye pointed out that the Member States’ evacuation missions in Afghanistan in August of this year showed that the EU needs to strengthen its strategic autonomy in foreign and security policy.] As far as the future of the EU is concerned, Ambassador Lucas saw “an important mission statement” in the EU’s federalism idea. Nevertheless, the EU is a “sui generis” entity, i.e. an independent state, and is therefore not directly comparable to other systems already known. Another important pillar of the EU’s development is the principle of subsidiarity, which entails a sensible division of competences within the EU, Member States, regions and municipalities. The subsidiarity principle “does not have to lose the positive understanding of Europe”, even if it may mean less EU competence in certain areas. Sabine Thillaye also stressed the importance of focusing first on content and ideas rather than on institutional changes. There should not be the same mistakes as in 2004, when the Treaty on the EU Constitution was rejected in several ratification processes. “We need to define the EU’s priorities. First what we want — and then how we want it." The online Citizens’ Dialogue was moderated by Florian Staudt, free moderator. The meeting took place in cooperation with the regional associations of the Europa-Union Deutschland e.V. in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, the Union des Fédéralistes Européens (UEF) France, the German-French Youth Office (DFJW) and the Europa-Zentrum Baden-Württemberg. A broad and open dialogue is important to us, so we work with a large number of political and civil society partners. The event is part of the Citizens’ Dialogue series “Europe — We Must Talk!” and was sponsored by the Federal Foreign Office as a cross-border project.