France, Germany celebrate Treaty of Elysée
Today marks the 55th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Elysée between France and Germany.
Known also as the Treaty of Friendship or the Treaty of Franco-German Cooperation, it was signed at the Elysée Palace in Paris by the then German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, and the French President, Charles de Gaulle, on January 22, 1963. It came 18 years after the two nations had been bitter enemies in World War II.
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With the signing of the treaty, France and Germany established a new foundation for relations that ended centuries of rivalry between them.
It had also become a key building block in the post-war friendship between France and Germany that had become a central feature of European politics.
The treaty called for regular consultations between the two countries on all important questions concerning defence, education and youth issues and required regular summits between high-level officials.
Closer together
Speaking during an exclusive joint interview at the French Embassy in Accra ahead of the celebration which falls today, the French Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Francois Pujolas, and his German counterpart, Mr Christoph Retzlaff, emphasised that the Treaty of Elysée had brought their two countries closer together.
They stated that the Treaty of Elysée, which was signed not so long after the Second World War and at the beginning of their development process, sought to ensure that there would be no more wars in the future between them and also to place them at the core of the European Union (EU) process.
They said the Treaty of Elysée was a game changer which signified the end of rivalry between France and Germany and which had since become a pillar of European integration.
They observed that their countries had experienced a few wars which had very devastating effects and destruction and which affected millions of people and agreed that their countries were no longer going to go through any wars.
The ambassadors observed that since the treaty, they had never experienced any occasion where someone from either Berlin in Germany or Paris in France stood up to renounce it.
They were happy to note that the Treaty of Elysée had become the cornerstone of their respective foreign diplomacy.
They observed that their two countries had lived together like they had never done before and that was a lesson they learnt from the devastating wars.
They explained that they had had youth exchange programmes, where students from both countries studied in the other country in a well coordinated manner.
The treaty and the EU
Touching on the treaty and the EU in general, the ambassadors said it had helped to further strengthen the relationship among the EU and enhanced cooperation as well.
They stressed that an important feature was that no one country or member of the EU was going to suffer or gain at the expense of another.
Individual country interest was not the objective; it was cooperation and what was good for all, they noted, adding that if it worked, it worked for all.
“It is a win-win for all situations,” they said.
“The leadership of the EU countries have understood that no one country could do it alone and that there is the need for cooperation or integration,” they noted.
They observed an important feature on how they operated, saying that for the EU, a recipe for the success meant that they did not have to agree 100 per cent always but they were always able to come to a compromise.
In this century, no one country could face things on its own, they observed, and called for integration among countries within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as the African Union (AU), to be intensified.
They stressed the need for the government of Ghana to strengthen its will to develop bi-lingualism, as that would strengthen the relationship with its neighbours and help gain competitive advantage over them.
The celebration
As part of the celebration, there will be a special photo exhibition and performances by school choirs on Saturday, January 27.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron have released a video celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Treaty of Elysée and confirmed their intention to deepen Franco-German cooperation and give the EU a fresh start towards closer integration.
The two leaders issued a joint statement on social networks yesterday to mark the anniversary of the treaty.
They reaffirmed their “determination to deepen further cooperation” between France and Germany.
