International Laws - European Security

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It is certain that the French Presidential election has great influences on not only the European Integration process but also France- German relationship. This relationship is a very important foundation of European Union. When Germany and France began to reconcile in the 1950s, their cooperation was a strategic partnership. France tried to gain control over Germany by its integration into a European community while Germany aimed to regain political power and independence by joining a European community. Both states used their increasing relationship to peacefully enforce their own interests. This cooperation of course had an impact on European integration. Franco-German relations were first institutionalized in 1963 by the Elysée Treaty, supported by the spirit of reconciliation between the two countries. It was and is referred to as the ‘Franco-German tandem’, the ‘Franco-German engine’. Bilateral projects and initiatives contributed to the dynamics of cooperation, while common impulses made a crucial contribution to European integration. However, dramatic changes in geopolitics mean that not only France and Germany, but also Europe are faced with a fundamentally new challenge. The epochal shift in the existing world order not only leads to a decline in the importance of the two countries as nation-states, but also enhances the significance of Europe. But some 50 years after the Elysée Treaty was signed, the relationship is not similar to that in the beginning. There is a huge gap between two countries recently. Comparing the previous periods, the French economy has faced many difficulties with high unemployment rate (appropriately 10%), a growing deficit, terrorist attacks and poor economic prospects. While Germany economy is getting stronger than French one. However, both France and German are irredeemably interdependent. Berlin needs Paris to help keep the euro zone together, deal with the root causes of the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Africa (Mrs Merkel is increasingly taking an interest in the latter) and make Europe more self-sufficient in defence. There is even talk of Germany “buying into” France’s nuclear deterrent if Donald Trump backs away from NATO. Meanwhile Paris needs Germany to relax its stance on deficits, start consuming more and, ideally, move towards further euro zone integration.

In conclusion, it is hard to predict the result of the French Presidential election because everything can happen. Various surveys results have indicated that Marine Le Pen will be the winner in the second round. Personally, I will choose Mr. Emmanuel Macron as my favorite

candidate among all. His policy goals help France to have more opportunities to solve its problem in the globalization era. Besides, if Emmanuel Macron become the next French president, he will help to strengthen the relationship with Germany and boost up the European Integration. Whether Marie Le Pen or Emmanuel Macron become the next president, they have to address many challenges in the relationship between France and Germany and in the European Union.

REFERENCE

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Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: http://www.imanuel-macron-france-election-sondependent.co.uk/voices/emcialist-party-a7685176.html [Accessed 15 Apr. 2017].

Economist.com. (2017). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: http://www.economist.com/blogs/kaffeeklatsch/2017/04/franco-german-relationship [Accessed 23 Apr. 2017].

Reuters. (2017). Factbox: Francois Fillon's presidential election policies. [online] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-programme-fillon-fact-idUSKBN17G19Y?il=0 [Accessed 25 Apr. 2017].

Mortimer, C. (2017). Who is Emmanuel Macron, favourite to become France's next president?. [online] The Independent. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/french-election-latest-emmanuel-macron-who-is-france-en-marche-marine-le-pen-a7697951.html [Accessed 24 Apr. 2017].

Nossiter, A. (2017). Marine Le Pen Leads Far-Right Fight to Make France ‘More French’. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/world/europe/france-election-marine-le-pen.html [Accessed 20 Apr. 2017].

Rothwell, J. and Samuel, H. (2017). When is the French Presidential Election 2017, how does it work and who are the candidates?. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/french-presidential-election-2017-does-work-candidates/ [Accessed 25 Apr. 2017].

Rothwell, J. and Samuel, H. (2017). When is the French Presidential Election 2017, how does it work and who are the candidates?. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/french-presidential-election-2017-does-work-candidates/ [Accessed 25 Apr. 2017].

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