French, German leaders seek to build Europe with stronger military capabilities

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) - France and German leaders said that they seek to build a Europe with stronger military capabilities.

In a joint column published by the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and French weekly Journal du Dimanche, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for investing more in the armed forces and defense industry to improve the military capabilities of Europe.

This would strengthen Trans-Atlantic relations as well, they said.

“Sixty years after the signing of the Elysee Treaty (between French President Charles de Gaulle and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer on Jan. 22, 1963), France and Germany agree on the fundamental questions concerning the future of Europe,” Marcon and Scholz said.

“We share the same ambition: that of a resilient, powerful, and sovereign European Union. Even in cases where we diverge, we remain more than ever determined to work out common responses, responses that we want to study with our European partners.”

“We must ensure that the next generations of Europeans can live on a continent where peace, prosperity, and freedom reign”, they added.