dpa
Paris
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday said Europe "will not duck and hide” from the incoming US administration, as he visited Paris for key talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ahead of the meeting, Scholz said Europe will be a "a constructive and self-confident partner” for the United States during President Donald Trump’s second term.
"We are strong, we stand together,” said Scholz, who was in the French capital to mark the 62nd anniversary of the Élysée Treaty. The landmark agreement cemented the post-war reconciliation between France and Germany.
Macron and Scholz agree that "Europe must be strong and resilient in a world that is - to put it mildly - on the move,” the German chancellor said, describing Trump’s return as a "challenge.” His comments were echoed by Macron, who said the two countries want to "accelerate” the European agenda in the face of threats of US tariffs on European exports.
The president said it is "up to us Europeans, and thus to our two countries, to play our full role in consolidating a united, strong and sovereign Europe.” "Today more than ever, Europeans’ priority must be our Europe and, above all, our competitiveness, our prosperity and our security,” he added.
The two countries are cooperating in a number of fields, including artificial intelligence, Macron said. "We have a Franco-German plan for artificial intelligence and want to jointly develop more research projects, start-ups and the growth of our companies.” Macron hinted at tensions in the Franco-German relationship in recent years, but signalled that ties remain strong.
"In the face of challenges and the worries that sometimes arise, the pair we form is solid.” Scholz is not the only leading German politician visiting France at the moment.
Anke Rehlinger, president of Germany’s upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, is in Paris from Tuesday to Thursday and is scheduled to meet the presidents of the two houses of the French parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is also due to meet his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu in Paris on Thursday.