German-French co-operation helps EU integration says, Envoy

By Emeka Aginam

At the celebration of the 50th anniversary of  Elysée Treaty on German-French Co-operation held Tuesday in Lagos,   Consul-General of the Federal Republic of Germany ,  Mr. Walter L. von den Driesch has said that the  success of the Franco-German co-operation paved the way to European integration.

It would be recalled that the  Elysee Treaty was signed by Charles de Gaulle of France and Germany’s Konrad Adenauer on 22 January 1963, even as it  committed to embark on the road of reconciliation between  the two countries to steer towards mutual understanding and closer co-operation

While the French flag was flying beside that of Germany at the residence of French Consul-General at Ikoyi during the occasion, the foreign envoy told the diplomat community that despite challenges, Berlin and Paris have been key shapers of the European Union.

According to him, France and Germany were key founding members of the European Union.

“In the past few months, we have been working closely together, along with the other European countries, to push forward decisive actions to overcome the Eurozone crisis so that European countries in difficulty can reduce their macro-economic imbalances through ambitious structural reform programmes,” he said.