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Germany’s incoming chancellor, Olaf Scholz, will make his first state visit to France to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, an official close to Scholz said Friday.
The Social Democrat will “likely” travel to Paris in the week of December 6, the official told POLITICO. The exact date is not yet set as Scholz still has to be elected as chancellor by the German Bundestag, which will happen between December 6 and 9.
Scholz’ Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP agreed a coalition deal on Wednesday in which they stressed their future government will have a “special responsibility” to serve Europe and will be “led by a strong Franco-German partnership.”
The planned trip to Paris would allow Scholz to closely coordinate on European and international issues as well as the upcoming six-month French presidency of the Council of the EU, which starts in January. Macron has set ambitious goals for the French presidency, such as a stronger push for European strategic autonomy in economic and military affairs and a stricter approach to illegal immigration.
The planned Scholz-Macron meeting also comes ahead of a European Council summit in Brussels on December 16-17, where EU leaders plan to discuss the COVID crisis, high energy prices, security and defense issues, as well as foreign affairs such as the Belarus migrant crisis and potentially relations with the U.K.
Source: Politico
