BERLIN
\nFrance and Germany bear a \u201cspecial responsibility\u201d to make the European Union a stronger world power as Paris assumes the bloc\u2019s rotating presidency, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told AFP on Friday.
\nGermany\u2019s coalition government has said it wants to increase the bloc\u2019s \u201cstrategic sovereignty\u201d as rivalries between world powers such as the United States, China and Russia adversely affect the EU.
\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron has long envisioned a stronger European Union, saying he aimed to make it \u201cpowerful in the world\u201d during France\u2019s six-month presidency of the European Council beginning on January 1.
\nGermany will also host the next G7 summit in June as president of the group of wealthy democracies, giving the EU a chance to establish global diplomatic leadership in 2022.
\nThe two countries, \u201cas the closest of friends at the heart of Europe, bear a special responsibility for a united European Union, capable of acting and looking towards the future,\u201d said Baerbock.<\/p>\n
France\u2019s presidency is \u201can important opportunity we want to seize together to strengthen Europe and make it fit to rise up to tomorrow\u2019s challenges\u201d, she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur French friends can count on our support from the first day to the last to prepare the ground for a sustainable economic recovery, in the fight against the climate crisis, in digitalisation and for a more sovereign Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
France\u2019s priorities for its European Council presidency include a bloc-wide minimum wage, more regulation on digital giants and a carbon border tax.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN France and Germany bear a \u201cspecial responsibility\u201d to make the European Union a stronger world power as Paris assumes the bloc\u2019s rotating presidency, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told AFP on Friday. Germany\u2019s coalition government has said it wants to increase the bloc\u2019s \u201cstrategic sovereignty\u201d as rivalries between world powers such as the United […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-236128","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n