FRANCO-GERMAN summits were once about enthusiastic EU engine-tuning; of late they have taken on the joyless obligation of a national car test.
The mood is no different ahead of today’s Berlin meeting between Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. The aim? To close policy differences over how best to finance fresh aid to Greece ahead of next week’s EU summit.
“What we need most now, is unity,” said Mr Sarkozy yesterday, in a nod to the German capital. “We have to leave national fights behind us to find our sense of common destiny once more.”
It’s no longer denied the sober Merkel and impetuous Sarkozy don’t get on personally. Unlike their predecessors, the concern is growing in both capitals that the working relationship is in decline too. Seven months have passed since their last bilateral meeting.
A promenade in Deauville to generate images of cozy co-operation secured only some agreement on EU budgetary measures.
Paris officials complain that their Berlin counterparts no longer think in Franco-German categories and that the flow of information from Berlin has dried up. Ministerial meetings at bi-monthly intervals are a thing of the past; officials at meetings that do take place describe an “atmosphere of nothing to say”.
A year into the euro zone crisis, with no end in sight, French officials are concerned German domestic considerations have primacy in decision-making. “We need more Germany,” complained one unnamed French official to the Frankfurter Allgemeine yesterday. “There must be no more surprises” – a nod to Berlin’s UN abstention on Libya and its surprise exit from nuclear power.
Today’s talks will be dominated by differences on how best to rescue Greece. Germany leads a group of nations anxious for the private sector to make a “substantial” contribution to new aid package. Berlin proposals to extend by seven-years the repayment period on bonds has met resistance from the European Central Bank. It warns imposing anything on markets could be seen as a partial default and trigger market panic. “Any solution must be voluntary enough that a state insolvency or a non-payment rating can be avoided,” said ECB vice-president Vitor Constancio.
French opposition to private sector involvement has hardened after ratings agencies warned its big three banks were at risk of a credit downgrade because of exposure to Greek debt. In Berlin yesterday low expectations of today’s short meeting were best reflected in the cheeky headline: “45 minutes to save the euro”.
Amid reports that a final decision wasn’t likely until July, German analysts said the two leaders need a compromise today.
“Dr Merkel is neither a lover of the Franco-German relationship nor a fan of Mr Sarkozy,” said Dr Cornelius Adebahr of the German Council on Foreign Relation. “But she knows . . . a rescue of the euro is only possible with this Franco-German marriage of convenience.”