Deutsche Welle wrote:As German troops officially took up their first symbolic post on French soil since WWII, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel reaffirmed their commitment to the eurozone.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy reaffirmed their commitment to the single European currency and to the fiscal solvency of the eurozone at a meeting in the German city of Freiburg on Friday.
"There is a spirit that is uniting us all," the German chancellor told reporters during a break in the talks. "If the euro fails, the European Union fails, too."
President Sarkozy, meanwhile, pledged that Germany and France "will defend the euro, because the euro is Europe."
Sarkozy also backed Germany's opposition to creating unified European sovereign bonds. The idea of harmonizing some eurozone debt, as suggested by several members of the currency union, has met with strong opposition from Germany and France, whose balance sheets are relatively healthy.
"French and German citizens would not be happy if we were to bundle the debts together," the French president said. He argued that the concept might be worth considering in the future, but only after the bloc's members ramp up their economic and political cooperation.
"We should not put the cart before the horse," Sarkozy told reporters.
European leaders, or bullies?
Earlier in the week, Merkel and Germany had come under fire over this issue from Luxembourg's prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the eurozone. Juncker said that creating taboo subjects without even considering the ideas of others was "a very un-European way of dealing with European issues."
As the two largest EU members, France and Germany both have a sizeable share of the voting power within the bloc, and need relatively little support from other countries in order to secure a majority.
"Without agreement from France and Germany - the historic motors of European integration and two economies that make up half of the eurozone's gross domestic product - nothing very important is possible," Professor Henrik Uterwedde from the Franco-German Institute in Ludwigsburg told Deutsche Welle.
"So on the one hand, they must reach agreements, and help the union move forward, but at the same time, they don't always do enough to treat the other members as equal partners and involve them in the decision-making processes."
Friday's meeting was in preparation for the EU summit in Brussels on December 16 and 17, at which the bloc's economic difficulties such as unemployment and national debt are bound to top the agenda.
Troop deployment symbolic of closer cooperation
While Sarkozy and Merkel discussed the harmonization of economic policies like labor and taxation laws, saying this would improve the eurozone's coherence as an economic bloc, military leaders just across the border were preparing a more visible symbol of Franco-German cooperation.
The first German battalion to be stationed on French soil since the Nazi occupation in World War II officially took up their post near the border-city of Strasbourg on Friday. German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and his French counterpart Alain Juppe attended a ceremony to mark the event.
"German soldiers are today welcome in France," Merkel said across the border in Freiburg. "For me, that has great symbolism, after all that Germany was guilty of during the Nazi era."
The battalion, which will eventually consist of 600 soldiers, is part of the joint Franco-German Brigade.
"I was always surprised that the Franco-German Brigade only consisted of French soldiers in Germany," Sarkozy said. "We are two sovereign nations, two countries at peace, two countries that founded Europe."
Franco-German genesis of EU
Sarkozy was referring to the forerunner of the modern-day European Union, the European Coal and Steel Community. This trade-oriented union was established in 1953 as part of post-war efforts to negate the possibility of future conflict between France and Germany by making them economically interdependent. Between 1870 and 1945, the two neighbors fought three devastating wars.
"Above all else, I think putting these German troops in France is a symbolic exercise," Franco-German expert, Professor Henrik Uterwedde said. "But sometimes symbolism is important."
"That famous photo of [former German Chancellor] Helmut Kohl and [then French President] Francois Mitterand standing hand-in-hand at the World War One commemorations in Verdun in 1984 was pure symbolism, too - but it was a hugely significant image."
The Alsace region where the German battalion us now stationed spans the Franco-German border, and has changed hands several times over the centuries.
France is so accustomed to Germany occupying them that they don't bother to put up a fight anymore.
Funny thing is some parts of the Maginot line are actually still manned; though not for the original purpose. Though its also amusing how France kept whole divisions in Germany throughout the cold war, even when they 'withdrew' from the NATO command structure. Its amusing how they acted as if the Soviets wouldn't just nuke all of them as fifteen thousand tanks fill in the Rhine like lemmings and continue to attack to Paris no matter what France said.
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
spartasman wrote:The French are just full of themselves, without any good reason to be so. At least the Germans have a bit of humility.
Only an american could say that with a straight face.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
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A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------ My LPs
spartasman wrote:The French are just full of themselves, without any good reason to be so. At least the Germans have a bit of humility.
Only an american could say that with a straight face.
Indeed, I can't think of any other country in the world where many political discussions begin with something like "Let me just state, this is the greatest country in the world" or all that it takes to dismiss an idea is to point out its foreign.
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi
"Problem is, while the Germans have had many mea culpas and quite painfully dealt with their history, the South is still hellbent on painting themselves as the real victims. It gives them a special place in the history of assholes" - Covenant
"Over three million died fighting for the emperor, but when the war was over he pretended it was not his responsibility. What kind of man does that?'' - Saburo Sakai
That's why French and Americans are constantly guttersniping one another: we're a lot alike!
Would pooling together EU armies spread the cost burdens out among more countries? I was wondering if a "Euro-Army" could be conceived of in the future with common equipment, allowing countries to maximize economy of scale. Probably easier on paper; damn hard to get around cultural and social obstacles.
But as for the rest of the content of the article, WTF are Germany and France doing to secure the stability of the Euro from all the sloppy record-keepers and spendthrifts in places like Greece? Harmonizing debt does nothing to stop it from happening again, and I have to admit that making France and Germany bear the burden for other governments' ways is stupid.
Something about Libertarianism always bothered me. Then one day, I realized what it was:
Libertarian philosophy can be boiled down to the phrase, "Work Will Make You Free."
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around! If all you want to do is have some harmless, mindless fun, go H3RE INST3ADZ0RZ!! Grrr! Fight my Brute, you pansy!
Well, the British and French were considering pooling their Aircraft Carriers into a combined navy to cut costs, but I haven't heard anything new on that in a while. Other then that, the EuroFighter program is the only thing that comes to mind concerning a homogenized European army. That of course does not mean that the armies of Europe to not plan and exercise together, or that, like NATO, they do not have planned military scenarios, but nothing major.
Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
- Samuel Clemens
