Французько-німецьке партнерство в європейських інтеграційних процесах

The thesis analizes the impact on the development of bilateral cooperation due to the constitutional changes in France, which caused the emergence of the Fifth Republic and re-activated the contacts between the USSR and USA after the Carrebean crisis. It proved that Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer not only consolidated the role of the franco-german relations in Europe. They also changed the conception of “rapprochement” to “reconciliation” The essence of this specific relationship was fixed by a special agreement between Paris and Bonn. The Champs-Elysйe treaty in 1963 became one of the most important landmarks between both countries. The treaty contained a new element, a system that was aimed to give the possibility to reveal disagreements in advance. The author notes that the Franco-german consultation system proved to be effective, especially in the minor questions of the bilateral relations that didn't affect the fundamental questions of the partners. However being aware that the opposition weakened France and Germany neither country could bring it to the elaboration of the common foreign policy line.

The Franco-german cooperation from 1974 to 1990, despite certain dissagreements to some questions, is characterized by the active rapprochement. During the 80's, the efforts of Franзois Mitterand and Helmut Kohl hadn't only promoted the deepening of the economical and political cooperation in the EU, but completed the Franco-german partnership by intense dialog on the security questions. The dynamics of the military-political cooperation between France and Germany were evidence of the futher growing interest of the dependence level of both countries and convergence of the French and German conceptions of their national security. Just in that period the Franco-german cooperation on the questions of the European unity was consolidated. That provoked the futher evolution of the bilateral relations. As a result this, “reconciliation” was changed to the “engine” of European integration. The basis for such a rapprochement became the common will to deepen the economical integration of the Western European countries, to bring it to the qualitative new level. The foreign policy dividends of the rapprochement were the following: the solutions of own economical problems for France and for Germany, it was the equal status and better possibility to convert its economical weight in the conditions of “limited” souvereignty to the political influence.

Hence, the new political situation on the continent after 1991 for both France and the united Germany began in a new manner to define their own political interests in Europe and according to this change the existing conceptual groundings of the European policy. In this connection the new stage of the integration started by the Maastricht treaty proved to be possible because of the Franco-german compromise, which was attained during the negociations as to the unity of both German states. The author demonstrated that in the post-bipolar period, France and Germany kept the “engine”, which actively worked in the frames of second and third supports of the EU. Despite the clash in French and German positions, the formation of the economical and currency union as to the first support of the EU was developed.

During Gerhard Schrцder and Jacques Chirac stint at power, there was a reestimation of the role function and tasks of the tandem in the post-bipolar Europe. In this period the political йlites of both countries clearly realized the fact that neither reformation of the different spheres, nor formation of the effective structures of enlarged Europe, was impossible without the concent of one of the parties. That is why the Blaesheim procces demonstrated that, France and Germany were able not only to overcome the most crisis events in the bilateral relations, but to finish the conception of the bilateral cooperation introducing into “engine” activity the common foreign policy line and the new institutional mechanisms. Paris and Berlin also introduced the common meetings of the governments of both countries in the format of the Frnco-German Concil of Ministers and achieved the domination of the Franco-german conception of the enlarged EU reformation. The creation of the alliances to the functional feature, being able to obtain in the frame of the enforced cooperation the fast progress either in the certain spheres of the European integration or in some questions of the world policy was the innovation of the common Franco-german strategy in the EU. That is why the thesis analized in detail, the examples of the Franco-german initiative enlargement by including to it Poland, Russia and Great Britain.

Key words: Franco-german cooperation, European integration, united Germany, EU enlargement, EU institutional reformation, Constituon for Europe.

Размещено на Allbest.ru