Berliner Tageblatt - French-German govt talks delayed as discord builds

The delay to January of the regular meeting hosted alternately by either cabinet exposed a growing rift between the two EU powers, and comes as Europe struggles to cope with an energy and cost-of-living crisis unleashed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's spokesman Steffen Hebestreit would not be drawn on the topics that the governments were unable to agree on.

But he acknowledged that "there are a number of different issues that we are dealing with at the moment... on which we have not yet reached a unified position."

Both sides therefore decided it was "sensible" to postpone the talks originally to be hosted by France to January.

Scholz will nevertheless hold bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of an EU summit starting Thursday, Hebestreit said, adding that the pair may also meet next Wednesday in Paris.

At a press conference after talks with his German counterpart, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire blamed the postponement on "difficulties on the agenda of some ministers". It has "nothing to do with any kind of political difficulties," he said.

But the Elysee admitted that it went beyond a scheduling issue.

"We decided together that we need a bit more time to arrive at ambitious things which are up to current challenges," said the French presidency.

France and Germany have often tried to present a united front in myriad crises, with the countries' two leaders coordinating their positions ahead of key summits.

But over the last weeks, criticisms have spilled out into the open on issues ranging from energy to defence.

"There have always been times of disagreements, but here, it's more serious," said Jacques-Pierre Gougeon of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.

- Points of contention -

After Scholz's government announced a 200-billion euro ($198-billion) support scheme to protect its businesses and consumers from runaway energy prices, Macron warned the programme risked leading to "distortions" in the bloc.

"If we want a coherent approach, it is not national strategies that need to be adopted but a European strategy," Macron argued in an interview published on Monday by French daily Les Echos.

France has, however, on a national level, introduced a price cap on energy prices.

Berlin has also been accused of blocking at the EU level a cap on gas prices which it fears would remove an incentive for consumers to save energy, thereby worsening the situation.

France, which is suffering an electricity shortage because several of its nuclear power plants are out of service, has been pushing for the cap.

Berlin was meanwhile unhappy with Paris over a lack of support for its bid to revive the so-called Midcat gas project for pipelines linking Portugal, Spain, through France to Germany.

While providing an immediate relief for gas supplies to the continent, Germany is also hoping that the pipeline could in future be used to transport hydrogen.

France shuns the Midcat because of its cost, and believes it is not necessary as the country already has sufficient liquefied natural gas terminals on its coast.

On military issues, Germany's recent success in rallying 14 NATO members to join its air shield project has irked France which is eyeing a separate plan.

Paris disputes Germany's plan to purchase an Israeli air-shield system rather than to seek a European solution, as France is developing its own missile-defence system with Italy.

K.Thomson--BTB