Today’s Le Monde has a series of articles on a proposal to merge France and Germany. The two countries are said to be “studying a project of unity.” A French official says that he “would like to see a ‘bund,’ or alliance, that would allow France and Germany to fuse their militaries and diplomatic corps and to share France’s seat at the United Nations Security Council.” And French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin was quoted by Le Monde speaking about “Franco-German union.”
Most observers believe that Germany and, especially, France are worried that their influence in the EU will be diluted by the addition of new members, some of whom, like Poland and Spain, are making waves. They are also determined not to be permanently sidelined by American power. So the threat to combine may be intended to assure that the EU structure that takes form is to their liking.
As to the proposed “union,” I’ll believe it when I see it. The International Herald Tribune reports: “The articles relied almost entirely on the views of French officials, although at one point a German academic was quoted as saying that the German defense and foreign ministries could have problems with the idea.”
Yes, I can imagine they would.
BIG TRUNK adds: Reader Joe Hopkins notes: “It is interesting that German officials might be opposed to a Franco-German union at this time. They attempted such a union three times in the last 135 years.”
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