This week marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Elysée Treaty between France and Germany. It was signed on 22nd January 1963 and was the first step in reconciling the two countries after the war, leading to France and Germany becoming leading figures in shaping the European Union. To honour the occasion, memorabilia such as stamps and coins have been created. In addition, the cabinets of both countries held a joint session in Berlin to mark the anniversary.

Relations between France and Germany have never been the smoothest, to say the least. The Nice Treaty negotiations are just one example of the rivalry which exists between both countries. Germany with a larger population was seeking to have this reflected in its Council votes; France opposed this in order to maintain the symbolic equality between both countries. During the French election, which was held eight months ago, Angela Merkel openly backed Nicolas Sarkozy, a fellow conservative. However, it would appear relations are now the best they have ever been with Angela Merkel even said to be giving her support to a French candidate for the banking supervisory body. The Merkel-Hollande team appears to be working well as is evident from the fiscal compact on budgetary discipline, the decision to keep Greece in the Eurozone and last December's agreement on the banking supervisory mechanism.

Both countries share a sense of responsibility towards the European Union and to finding a solution to the economic and social crisis. While speaking at the joint session, both Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel expressed their intentions to work together to present concrete proposals aimed at deepening economic and fiscal integration. This is the most divisive issue between the countries as both leaders come from parties with opposing views on what is meant by closer fiscal cooperation. Angela Merkel feels the solution is a tighter budgetary control. On the other hand, Francois Hollande sees increased solidarity through a Eurozone budget as a means to recover from the economic crisis. Both France and Germany agree the crisis has uncovered the structural flaws of the single currency. Through their proposed initiatives they aim to achieve greater social security, enhance employment opportunities, increase growth and further financial stability. Both Merkel and Hollande feel their opposing views place them in a good position to provide a balanced solution.

It is expected their proposals will be ready by the end of May and will be presented to the June EU summit. The proposals are expected to consist of measures targeting job creation, boosting growth and competitiveness. During a joint declaration both Merkel and Hollande emphasised the importance of competitiveness. They support unions, employers and workers across all member states to establish joint working groups to provide recommendations that would increase competitiveness on both a national and European level.  They also highlighted the importance of reaching an agreement on the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework, the discussions on which ran into difficulty last November due to diverging views among member states.

The Franco-German relationship has historically been the driving force at the heart of the European Union and it appears it will continue to be for some time. The nature of the relationship between both countries has changed over the years and the economic crisis highlights this. While Germany has remained economically successful despite the crisis, France on the other hand, has had to deal with its own economic troubles. The relationship is therefore no longer equally balanced. Germany is now indispensible to the European Union. It remains to be seen whether this will affect the discussions on the joint proposals.

Despite this period of good relations, there are still a number of areas which could lead to tension between the countries. For example France has provided assistance in Mail by sending troops. However, Germany is reluctant to send troops but has expressed its political support to France for the measures it has taken. In addition, Germany has provided material support.