Alistair Cole - Franco-German Relations

Franco-German
Relations

Political Dynamics of the EU series

Series Editors:

Professor Kenneth Dyson and

Professor Kevin Featherstone

LEGITIMACY AND THE EU

David Beetham and Christopher Lord

THE COMMON FOREIGN SECURITY POLICY OF THE EU

David Allen

FRANCO-GERMAN RELATIONS

Alistair Cole

TECHNOCRACY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Claudio M. Radaelli

First published 2001 by Pearson Education Limited

Published 2014 by Routledge
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Copyright 2001, Taylor & Francis.

The right of Alistair Cole to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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ISBN 13: 978-0-582-31997-4 (pbk)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

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At the start of the new century, Europe remains in a process of profound transition. The ramifications of the end of the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and German unification are still being unravelled. At the same time, the process of European integration has intensified, with the onset of the single European market and the launch of Economic and Monetary Union. The linkage between both sets of developments is provided, of course, by the prospect of the European Union (EU) being enlarged to include many of the eastern states. The EU now looms large over the full continental landscape. The connecting theme of these changes is of the Europeanisation of domestic politics and society.

With this in mind, the emphasis of this new series is very much on the dynamics of the European Union. Together, each of the volumes will analyse and reflect on the implications of such changes for the European integration process in the next decade.

The series also seeks to encourage undergraduate students to reflect theoretically on the implications of these changes. Just how adequate are different analytic frameworks for understanding what is happening in a given area of integration? The series will usefully complement more descriptive and institutionally-based accounts of European integration. At the same time the editors avoid imposing a single theoretical approach on what they recognise to be a wide range of varying experiences across different areas.

In addition to encouraging theoretical reflection, the series seeks to give a strong empirically-grounded content to each volume in the form of brief case studies, which are designed to illustrate important aspects of the phenomenon under investigation. These case studies focus in particular on the theme of power: of where power lies and of how it is exercised.

Finally, the series encourages authors to reflect on scenarios for development in the policy field or issue-area with which they are concerned. In this way, the theoretical and empirical foci of the volumes are brought together.

This third volume in the series extends the coverage to a new dimension of EU politics: that of the relations between national governments. No relationship has been more important to the development of the integration process than that between France and Germany. From Robert Schumans declaration on 9 May 1950 presaging the European Coal and Steel Community to the present day, the progress of integration has crucially depended on the understanding established between these two states. The personal relationships of Adenauer and De Gaulle, Brandt and Pompidou, Schmidt and Giscard, Kohl and Mitterrand have underscored the scope for further integration, brokering compromises and overcoming domestic opposition. The bargaining coalitions of EU states have been defined by reference to the Franco-German relationship. Others, like Britain and Italy, have found it difficult to break into this bilateral relationship for very long or with great effect, even when they had the will to do so.

Despite the political significance of the Franco-German relationship for the course taken by the EU, it has received only limited academic study. No doubt the task is a daunting one, requiring expertise on both national systems, foreign relations, and the EU framework. Cole has met the challenge here, by synthesising knowledge gained across these different sub-fields and advancing our analysis of the various contours of Franco-German relations. Students and researchers will find in this volume a lucid exploration and an insightful analysis of the bilateral relationship that is the defining core of the history of European integration. This is a key building-block to a wider understanding of the past, present and future of the EU.

Professor Kenneth Dyson

Professor Kevin Featherstone

University of Bradford

My research interest in the Franco-German relationship can be dated quite precisely. In November 1991, I was asked by the then recently arrived Professor of German Politics Eva Kolinsky to present a paper to the research seminar of the Keele Centre for Modern German Studies on French reactions to German unification. With a great degree of apprehension I agreed. The result was a first insight into the fascinating bilateral relationship apparently occupying the centre of European gravity. Writing the paper coincided with the end-game of the negotiations leading up to the Maastricht summit, and my intellectual interest was naturally fuelled by the unfolding of events during the critical 199193 period. The Keele paper eventually became an article in German Politics (December 1993). By the time I decided to write a book on the Franco-German relationship another five years had passed. In a very real sense, this book owes its existence to the support of former colleagues at Keele (Eva Kolinsky) and Bradford (Kenneth Dyson and Kevin Featherstone) who encouraged the endeavour and were tolerant with postponed deadlines. I thank them.