Sarkozy meets Merkel
France meets Deutchland and..
Sarkozy acts for his legend of Speedy Sarkozy !
But Merkel had hardly sat down before her host jumped up and informed her that their time was up. He said that he had scheduled a press conference and that the journalists were already waiting outside. But, Merkel said, we've only had a chance to talk about three or four issues. No, no, Sarkozy replied, he had planned everything quite thoroughly. It would be great.
With that, Sarkozy transformed the first-ever exchange between the countries' future leaders into a PR event. And now, with Sarkozy having been in office for less than a year, fears that the man in charge at Elysée Palace isn't completely reliable have been confirmed. It has been a long time since a French president has so sorely tested the patience of the German government.
Anything but Friendly from a German Perspective
It's not so much the self-promotion that seems to drive Sarkozy's foreign policy -- officials at the chancellery and at the foreign ministry in Berlin have become used to that. For instance, he claimed that the EU's new Lisbon Treaty came about mainly due to his superior negotiating skills. He also made sure the world was aware that he alone was to thank for the release of five Bulgarian nurses from Libyan prisons last summer. Sarkozy likes to invoke the "great friendship" that he insists unites him with "dear Angela," but what he then says and does is often anything but friendly, at least from a German perspective.
FROM THE MAGAZINE
Find out how you can reprint this DER SPIEGEL article in your publication. But now Sarkozy's impulsiveness has truly infuriated the Germans. Many in Berlin now wonder if he is at all interested in good relations with his German neighbors after he cancelled a long-planned meeting with Merkel in the Bavarian town of Straubing, originally scheduled to take place on Monday. Sarkozy, his aides said, was unable to attend the meeting because of his "overbooked schedule," as if a meeting with the German chancellor were some minor event. Meanwhile, Sarkozy traveled to South Africa, as planned, and he apparently found enough wiggle room on his calendar for an excursion to Chad. Instead of the Straubing summit, the two will meet on Monday night in Hanover for a brief working dinner after opening the IT trade fair CeBIT together.
A tête-à-tête between German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück and his French counterpart Christine Lagarde, which had been scheduled for last Tuesday, also had to be cancelled. Sarkozy, who had scheduled last-minute visits to a number of factories in the French countryside, wanted Lagarde to accompany him instead.
No Clarification
But it's not just appointment books that have recently been at odds. The French president has not proven shy about brainstorming on the foreign policy front. But most of his ideas are received in Berlin as provocations. One example is his proposal to establish a Mediterranean union (more...) that would strengthen ties with North African and Middle Eastern nations. German diplomats see it as an attempt to establish a French-dominated, second-tier EU as a counterweight to the EU's expansion into Eastern Europe, which benefits the Germans geographically. So far the French have avoided explaining what, exactly, they envision, and even a visit by presidential advisor Henri Guaino in mid-February provided no clarification.
REUTERS
Berlin is not a fan of Sarkozy's Mediterranean union.
Sarkozy's latest initiatives are of the foreign policy variety, already a difficult topic for Merkel given the controversy over the German military's Afghanistan operations. When France assumes the rotating EU presidency in July, Sarkozy will launch a veritable eruption of ideas -- promoting more energy security, a cleaner environment and better integration of immigrants. But the most important item on his agency will be the question of how Europe can better protect itself against its enemies.
So far, the exact contours remain vague, but judging by what has been leaked in Brussels so far, the restless Frenchman has big plans. For example, Sarkozy wants to completely reconfigure the EU's defense structures. If the president has his way, the organization's six biggest countries -- Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Poland -- will join forces to form an elite group. He envisions a European military core -- not unlike the euro zone with its shared currency or the Schengen Agreement which guarantees borderless travel.
The plans for a combined fighting force are already well along. Each of the six member states would provide 10,000 troops, an effort that would eclipse all joint combat forces to date. The idea, though, is hardly new. As far back as 1999, the EU agreed to form a 60,000-man military European Rapid Reaction Force, but the plan petered out due to insufficient participation.
Not Cheap for EU Partners
As an alternative, the EU decided to establish "Battle Groups" consisting of 1,500 troops each, which, at the urging of the French and the British, were intended primarily for missions in Africa. But the program has never been a true success, suffering from chronic staffing shortages because, again, few of the EU partners are interested in participating.
For Sarkozy, there are two main reasons to promote a European military. The plan makes it easier for him to fully re-integrate France into NATO, which he has declared to be an important goal of his presidency. It would also help him get other nations on board for military excursions in France's former African colonies -- support he would need when, as he plans, the size of the French army is reduced.
Clearly this would not come cheaply for his EU partners, but that appears to be a secondary concern for Sarkozy. According to the French plan, each of the "Big Six" would be required to devote 2 percent of its gross domestic product to the military effort. But aside from France and Great Britain, the other four countries envisioned for the six-nation military core currently spend less on defense. Germany, for example, spends only 1.2 percent of GDP on its military. In the current climate, it is hard to imagine that a majority in the German parliament would support expanding the country's current defense budget of €29 billion ($43.5 billion) to the €50 billion ($75 billion) the French plan would require. Berlin has consistently rejected similar demands from Washington.
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The situation at NATO is a case in point for how uninhibited -- some would say inconsiderate -- the French are in pursuing their interests in Europe. It remains unclear how the French military, which left the military structure of the alliance in 1966 at the behest of then President Charles de Gaulle, could be reintegrated today. Nevertheless, French military reconnaissance teams are already scouting the terrain at NATO command centers to determine which of the 16,000 positions they could fill with their own people in the future. In doing so, they have made it clear that their president will not be satisfied with third- or fourth-tier positions.
Since the alliance was established close to 60 years ago, a US general has traditionally held the top position of Supreme Allied Commander Europe, or SACEUR. At the Mons, Belgium headquarters of John Craddock, who currently holds the position, a Briton serves as his deputy and a German performs the demanding task of chief of staff. All three officers hold the rank of a four-star general.
A German officer recently asked French Army Chief of Staff Jean-Louis Georgelin whether Paris, in return for agreeing to return to the NATO fold, would demand that a second, French deputy be installed. "What do you mean, 'deputy?'" the Frenchman replied. "I want to be SACEUR!"
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,539003,00.html
With that, Sarkozy transformed the first-ever exchange between the countries' future leaders into a PR event. And now, with Sarkozy having been in office for less than a year, fears that the man in charge at Elysée Palace isn't completely reliable have been confirmed. It has been a long time since a French president has so sorely tested the patience of the German government.
Anything but Friendly from a German Perspective
It's not so much the self-promotion that seems to drive Sarkozy's foreign policy -- officials at the chancellery and at the foreign ministry in Berlin have become used to that. For instance, he claimed that the EU's new Lisbon Treaty came about mainly due to his superior negotiating skills. He also made sure the world was aware that he alone was to thank for the release of five Bulgarian nurses from Libyan prisons last summer. Sarkozy likes to invoke the "great friendship" that he insists unites him with "dear Angela," but what he then says and does is often anything but friendly, at least from a German perspective.
FROM THE MAGAZINE
Find out how you can reprint this DER SPIEGEL article in your publication. But now Sarkozy's impulsiveness has truly infuriated the Germans. Many in Berlin now wonder if he is at all interested in good relations with his German neighbors after he cancelled a long-planned meeting with Merkel in the Bavarian town of Straubing, originally scheduled to take place on Monday. Sarkozy, his aides said, was unable to attend the meeting because of his "overbooked schedule," as if a meeting with the German chancellor were some minor event. Meanwhile, Sarkozy traveled to South Africa, as planned, and he apparently found enough wiggle room on his calendar for an excursion to Chad. Instead of the Straubing summit, the two will meet on Monday night in Hanover for a brief working dinner after opening the IT trade fair CeBIT together.
A tête-à-tête between German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück and his French counterpart Christine Lagarde, which had been scheduled for last Tuesday, also had to be cancelled. Sarkozy, who had scheduled last-minute visits to a number of factories in the French countryside, wanted Lagarde to accompany him instead.
No Clarification
But it's not just appointment books that have recently been at odds. The French president has not proven shy about brainstorming on the foreign policy front. But most of his ideas are received in Berlin as provocations. One example is his proposal to establish a Mediterranean union (more...) that would strengthen ties with North African and Middle Eastern nations. German diplomats see it as an attempt to establish a French-dominated, second-tier EU as a counterweight to the EU's expansion into Eastern Europe, which benefits the Germans geographically. So far the French have avoided explaining what, exactly, they envision, and even a visit by presidential advisor Henri Guaino in mid-February provided no clarification.
REUTERS
Berlin is not a fan of Sarkozy's Mediterranean union.
Sarkozy's latest initiatives are of the foreign policy variety, already a difficult topic for Merkel given the controversy over the German military's Afghanistan operations. When France assumes the rotating EU presidency in July, Sarkozy will launch a veritable eruption of ideas -- promoting more energy security, a cleaner environment and better integration of immigrants. But the most important item on his agency will be the question of how Europe can better protect itself against its enemies.
So far, the exact contours remain vague, but judging by what has been leaked in Brussels so far, the restless Frenchman has big plans. For example, Sarkozy wants to completely reconfigure the EU's defense structures. If the president has his way, the organization's six biggest countries -- Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Poland -- will join forces to form an elite group. He envisions a European military core -- not unlike the euro zone with its shared currency or the Schengen Agreement which guarantees borderless travel.
The plans for a combined fighting force are already well along. Each of the six member states would provide 10,000 troops, an effort that would eclipse all joint combat forces to date. The idea, though, is hardly new. As far back as 1999, the EU agreed to form a 60,000-man military European Rapid Reaction Force, but the plan petered out due to insufficient participation.
Not Cheap for EU Partners
As an alternative, the EU decided to establish "Battle Groups" consisting of 1,500 troops each, which, at the urging of the French and the British, were intended primarily for missions in Africa. But the program has never been a true success, suffering from chronic staffing shortages because, again, few of the EU partners are interested in participating.
For Sarkozy, there are two main reasons to promote a European military. The plan makes it easier for him to fully re-integrate France into NATO, which he has declared to be an important goal of his presidency. It would also help him get other nations on board for military excursions in France's former African colonies -- support he would need when, as he plans, the size of the French army is reduced.
Clearly this would not come cheaply for his EU partners, but that appears to be a secondary concern for Sarkozy. According to the French plan, each of the "Big Six" would be required to devote 2 percent of its gross domestic product to the military effort. But aside from France and Great Britain, the other four countries envisioned for the six-nation military core currently spend less on defense. Germany, for example, spends only 1.2 percent of GDP on its military. In the current climate, it is hard to imagine that a majority in the German parliament would support expanding the country's current defense budget of €29 billion ($43.5 billion) to the €50 billion ($75 billion) the French plan would require. Berlin has consistently rejected similar demands from Washington.
NEWSLETTER
Sign up for Spiegel Online's daily newsletter and get the best of Der Spiegel's and Spiegel Online's international coverage in your In- Box everyday.
The situation at NATO is a case in point for how uninhibited -- some would say inconsiderate -- the French are in pursuing their interests in Europe. It remains unclear how the French military, which left the military structure of the alliance in 1966 at the behest of then President Charles de Gaulle, could be reintegrated today. Nevertheless, French military reconnaissance teams are already scouting the terrain at NATO command centers to determine which of the 16,000 positions they could fill with their own people in the future. In doing so, they have made it clear that their president will not be satisfied with third- or fourth-tier positions.
Since the alliance was established close to 60 years ago, a US general has traditionally held the top position of Supreme Allied Commander Europe, or SACEUR. At the Mons, Belgium headquarters of John Craddock, who currently holds the position, a Briton serves as his deputy and a German performs the demanding task of chief of staff. All three officers hold the rank of a four-star general.
A German officer recently asked French Army Chief of Staff Jean-Louis Georgelin whether Paris, in return for agreeing to return to the NATO fold, would demand that a second, French deputy be installed. "What do you mean, 'deputy?'" the Frenchman replied. "I want to be SACEUR!"
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,539003,00.html
