France, Germany seek to ‘move on’ after strains – minister
PARIS (Reuters) -France and Germany are determined to improve relations and “move on”, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday, after a period of strain between the European Union’s two biggest economies.
“There is total determination from both Berlin and Paris to strengthen our relationship,” Le Maire said ahead of talks with his German counterpart Christian Lindner in Paris.
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“We are working every day to pave the way for common ground for agreements to move on, because there is no other choice but to move on,” Le Maire said.
Franco-German relations have suffered recently over differences ranging from energy policy to defence procurement and anti-inflation relief measures, prompting Le Maire to call last month for a “reset” in their relations.
Lindner is the third senior German minister to visit Paris this week as part of an effort to patch up relations ahead of a meeting now expected in January between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. It had originally been expected to take place last month.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is due to meet with Scholz on Friday in Berlin.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas, editing by Tassilo Hummel and Gareth Jones)