Brussels, December 11, 2012 : .After long discussions in Paris, Olaf Scholz, the new German Chancellor, stated that his country was ready to cooperate with other members of the European Union and others to create a strong and sovereign Europe.
Scholz, who was sworn in on Wednesday as the successor of Angela Merkel, followed in his predecessor’s footsteps in making France the first stop during his first-ever trip abroad as chancellor, Xinhua news agency reported.
During his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Scholz pledged to work with France on the major challenges confronting the EU.
They discussed how the EU will be able to deal with new energy sources, immigration and border protection.
Macron told a press conference after the meeting that he had seen “a convergence of views, a desire to have our countries work together, and a firm and determined belief in Europe, which I knew already, which we will need in the months and years ahead.”
Scholz said their talks focused on “making Europe strong and sovereign” in terms of economy, security, and foreign policy.”What is important there is that we work together,” he said.
This meeting was held a day following Macron’s presentation of the Agenda for Europe that is Powerful in the World during France’s rotation as the President of the Council of the European Union (27 members) in the First Half of 2022.
STRONGER EUROPE, MULTIPOLAR WORLD
Then the chancellor arrived in Brussels, where he met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
Scholz, von der Leyen and von der Leyen spoke at a joint press conference.He stressed the need to strengthen the EU’s defense and security policy.
He also spoke about his vision of a “strong, sovereign European Union” that will be able to respond to foreign policy challenges in a coordinated way.”Any threat against any EU country will not be tolerated,” he stressed.
Scholz leads a coalition of his Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens.The German government works together in a united way, he said.”All three parties are pro-European,” he said.
The chancellor stated that Germany is one of the most powerful economies within the EU and must assume the responsibility for ensuring progress and a brighter future.
Von der Leyen, a German politician herself, said Germany played an important role in shaping the EU.
“The European Commission is ready for intensive cooperation with the new German government,” she said, highlighting the fight against the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, climate action in the framework of the European Green Deal, and large-scale digitalisation as key areas for cooperation between the European Commission and Germany.
Scholz, who was also accompanied by Charles Michel (President of the European Council), stressed the need for the EU to live in peace with all countries as it pursues its strategic sovereignty within the multipolar world.
The world will not be bipolar as some people speculate, but a multipolar one with “many powers,” including the US, Russia, China, Japan, India as well as many other rising economies, he said.
The former German Finance Minister and Vice-Chancellor in the Merkel government won 395 of the 707 votes cast in the Bundestag lower house on Wednesday, and pledged broad “continuity” with Merkel’s policies while striving to make Germany greener and fairer.
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