For all its undoubted flaws,a unique friendship treaty sees a bigger picture that is lost on Britain’s small-minded leadersIt is tempting to indulge in some typical British lip-curling over the grand-sounding Treaty of Franco-German Cooperation and Integration signed on Tuesday by Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle in French), capital of Charlemagne’s lost but not forgotten ninth-century European empire.
The pact, or reaffirming the 1963 Élysée treaty that set the two countries on the path to post-war reconciliation,is intended to reassert the centrality of the Franco-German partnership in a splintering Europe beset by resurgent nationalism, rightwing populism and Brexit. Cynics will say it is also an attempt to reassert the fading relevance of Merkel and Macron. Related: France and Germany provoke populist anger with 'friendship pact' renewal Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com