Germany and France seek intersections for energy sovereignty

Following yesterday’s meeting of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly in Berlin, it was decided to set up a new working group of parliamentarians from both countries to address the issue of energy sovereignty. It was also agreed to clear up the misunderstandings between Paris and Berlin.

Parliamentarians from both countries asked German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Secretary of State for Europe Laurence Boone about common challenges in foreign and security policy. The meeting was chaired by Bärbel Bas, President of the German Bundestag, and Yaël Braun-Pivet, President of the National Assembly. It was a highly diplomatic exercise given the current strong divergences between Paris and Berlin.

Yaël Braun-Pivet pointed to „slight turbulence“ in relations between the two capitals. She quoted Cicero as saying, „In adversity, true friends reveal themselves.“ Annalena Baerbock added that Paris and Berlin „don’t always see eye to eye,“ but precisely because of the deep ties, they can work to find common intersections. „There are no families in which everyone always agrees,“ she said.