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FRANKFURT, Germany – French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday discussed migration, the fixing of the euro, the defense of Europe, the taxation of digital companies, and the fight against corruption. other issues, both leaders seeking to preserve their influence abroad while their authority is staying at home.
Macron, who came to Berlin to take part in the German National Memorial Day dedicated to the victims of war and dictatorship, urged the European government to take on more responsibility for its own destiny, especially with regard to defense.
Macron said that the Franco-German alliance "is vested with this obligation not to let the world sink into chaos and accompany it on the road to peace".
He said that Europe can not play its role "if it does not assume more responsibility for its defense and security and is content to play a secondary role on the international stage".
Merkel has scheduled the European Parliament elections in May, which will give populist and anti-EU parties a new chance to test their appeal to voters.
"We must do a lot by May next year to achieve a more united, more sovereign and more efficient Europe, which we urgently need," she said.
The two largest countries in Europe can be a powerful force, but their leaders are currently hampered by declining domestic support. Macron saw its ranking back at home, where more than a quarter of a million people demonstrated Saturday against the proposed gas tax hikes. Merkel is a lame duck since she said she would not seek another warrant.
Merkel supported Macron's proposal to build a European army one day. The two leaders said that Europe must rely less on other countries, such as the United States, to defend itself.
US President Donald Trump has disrupted NATO allies by demanding that member countries pay more for their defense or "protect themselves", as he recently said in a tweet.
However, the solemn appearances and warm words uttered before the Euro summit on the theme of the euro in December can not mask the persistent friction between the French and German approaches to the European Union's economic problems.
Germany and France have apparently reached an agreement on a common budget for EU countries that use the common euro, which Macron has called for. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told the press agency dpa that the proposal was to be presented Monday to European finance ministers.
The size of the budget – mentioned by the French Minister of Finance, Bruno Le Maire – between 20 and 25 billion euros – is well below the idea of Macron. This amount represents only 0.2% of the euro area economy, less than the several percentage points of gross domestic product originally reported by Macron.
French President Macron has just suggested that Europe build its own military forces to protect itself from the United States, China and Russia. Very insulting, but maybe Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, that the United States subsidizes enormously!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018
The compromise underscores the reluctance of the Germans to approve everything that is perceived as a transfer of money from taxpayers from richer countries like Germany to more fiscally fragile countries such as Italy or Greece.
The December EU summit is due to examine limited proposals to strengthen the euro, such as the improvement of the euro area bailout fund and a long-term roadmap for setting up deposit insurance in the euro area. EU level.
Both parties can not agree on a tax on digital businesses such as Amazon and Google. France and the European Commission have proposed to impose such a tax, but Scholz said the issue should be left to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which has 36 members.
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