Strained France-Germany ties slow EU decision-making.

It will be visually striking this week in Hamburg to see French President Emmanuel Macron and his government sipping beers on a boat alongside their German colleagues.

However, the informal team-building activity, known as “Klausur” by the German government, conceals a fight for dominance between the two most powerful nations in the EU and its effects on several EU initiatives.

Paris and Berlin conflict on various subjects, from cooperative defense initiatives to nuclear energy or ties with China.

Macron voiced his annoyance in an August address, referring to Germany’s nuclear energy policy as “a historic mistake.”

With its fleet of reactors, France produces over 70% of its electricity, making it one of the most nuclear-powered nations in the world.

The growing tension between the capitals, which goes beyond a quarrel over technical issues, reveals a breakdown in confidence between two governments competing for significant economic interests and divergent views on the future of the EU.

Detlef Seif, a key German Christian Democratic Union politician on EU matters, said: “I have the impression that the governments do not speak with one another about important topics and then, when they do, only through the media and sometimes through indiscretions.”

A French official said Berlin suggested a less formal meeting this week due to the communication breakdown.

AVOIDING NUCLEAR WAR

The fight for EU power reform is the most contentious. Because of France’s affordable power, which could give them an advantage as Germany struggles with high gas prices, French officials are furious about what they perceive as a German effort to undermine the nuclear industry’s ability to compete.

Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, director of the energy center at the IFRI think tank in Paris, stated that Germany’s anti-nuclear stance, which goes beyond its boundaries, is the origin of all these problems.

After the Fukushima tragedy in Japan in 2011, Germany decided to phase out nuclear energy, shutting down its last reactors in April.

However, due to the invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s supply of inexpensive Russian gas was cut off, leaving its industry battling with skyrocketing electrical bills. German industrial leader BASF is reducing European employment and increasing investment in China.

“They shot themselves in the foot, and now they want to shoot in ours to get even,” a French official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity.

Germany and several other EU countries are pushing stricter regulations on state-backed support of electricity prices. Berlin authorities are concerned that Paris may award fixed-price nuclear power contracts supported by the state to its national energy champion, EDF, and use the money raised to assist French industry.

According to a firm executive with knowledge of the Franco-German talks, Germany also has anxiety that France may entice businesses with cheaper electricity over the Rhine.

Analysts are skeptical that France and Germany will be able to agree in Hamburg before a vital EU energy conference on October 17.

According to Wolfgang Munchau’s article in the Euro Intelligence newsletter, France “does not appear to be in the mood for compromise any longer.”

Other European officials haven’t overlooked that.

One EU diplomat told Reuters that it would be more difficult for the EU to get a consensus on other major choices, such as the future form of support for Ukraine.

Vision and chemistry

There is more to the hostility between the French president and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz than just a lack of chemistry. It also results from two opposing worldviews.

The “strategic autonomy” advocated by Macron, which calls for Europe to not rely on foreign powers in areas that may provide them with political clout, is at odds with Germany’s traditional reliance on the American military’s protection.

Paris canceled a combined Franco-German summit last year due to Berlin’s decision to deploy the “European Sky Shield” air-defense system with American and Israeli weaponry rather than Franco-Italian.

Germany has also long promoted the idea of “Wandel durch Handel” (translation: “Change through Trade”), the idea that trade between nations may not only assist in averting conflict but also encourage democracy in formerly authoritarian governments.

German leaders believe trading relations with a nation like China might avoid conflict, despite criticism that the idea failed with Russia. France prefers a stronger stance.

According to sources, that became clear when Brussels opened an investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, which the French supported but which Germany is said to have qualms about.

According to Noah Barkin, an analyst at GMF Asia, “where the Germans are risk-averse due to their extensive investments in China, the French are willing to live in a world where retaliation from Beijing is becoming a growing possibility.”