THE FRANCO-GERMAN APPROACH TO TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE AACHEN TREATY OF 2019
Ferdinando Francesc h elli *
Abstract
Through the Aachen Treaty of January 2019, signed 56 years after the Élysée Treaty, France and Germany have renewed and strengthened their bilateral rela- tions and their cooperation, both with the aim of preparing for the challenges that the two countries and EU are facing in the 21st century. It has the aim of promoting EU unity, efficiency and cohesion, as well as the EU’s ability to act autonomously on the international stage. Climate change related aspects play a central and strategic role in the object and purpose of the Aachen Treaty, in particular as concerns the commitment of the Franco-German partnership to taking climate protection into account in all policies, their pledge to promote energy transition and, finally, their commitment to ensure prosperity and security through climate protection. This article first describes the structure and content of the Aachen Treaty. It then focuses on the Treaty provisions relating to the issue of climate change, and makes some critical comments on their actual contribu- tion to the field of climate action.
Keywords: Aachen Treaty; Franco-German co-operation; climate change; Paris Agreement; UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDGs
1. Introd u ction
On 22 January 2019, on the 56th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty of 1963,1 French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
* Research Fellow, Università degli Studi “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti – Pescara (Italy). 1 Traité entre la République française et la République fédérale d’Allemagne sur la coopéra- tion franco-allemande (avec Déclaration Commune), 22 January 1963, entered into force 2 July 1963, available (in French) at:
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ��19 | doi:10.1163/��116133_0�801016 274 notes and comments signed a bilateral treaty on Franco-German Cooperation and Integration that is designed to deepen the Franco-German friendship. Significantly, the Treaty was signed in the German city of Aachen,2 seat of the Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne and historical symbol of unity among the European peoples. It is subject to ratification by the two countries and, pursuant to Article 28, it is to enter into force on the day following the date of receipt of the last notifica- tion of the ratification by the other Party. By the Élysée Treaty of 1963, signed by President Charles de Gaulle and by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, France and Germany finally put an end to conflicts and rivalries that had characterized their relations for centuries, and which had resulted in three devastating wars against one another within 75 years, i.e. the Franco-German War of 1870, the First World War and the Second World War. Although important steps forward in the pacification and rapprochement be- tween the two countries had been made by the Treaties of Paris and Rome of 1951 and 1957, which established the three European Communities, the Élysée Treaty marked a substantial evolution between them, strengthening their bilateral relationship. It envisaged a commitment to consultation between the two states in order to achieve a shared position in external relations with the main interlocutors, a rapprochement of their respective positions in defence matters, and joint efforts in the field of education and youth policies.3 The 2019 Aachen Treaty refers to the content of the Élysée Treaty of 1963 and is designed to complement, not replace it.4 However, the Treaty goes far beyond the scope of the Élysée Treaty, which was adopted in a completely different political situation (i.e. only 18 years after the end of World War II, and in the context of the European Communities being formed only by the six founding states). Although it does so in a fairly generic
Erinnerungsort”, in Gil z mer , Lü se b rin k and Vatter (eds.), 50 Jahre Elysée-Vertrag (1963- 2013)/Les 50 ans du traité de l’Elysée (1963-2013), Bielefeld, 2014, p. 81 ff. 2 Traité entre la République française et la République fédérale d’Allemagne sur la coopération et l’intégration franco-allemandes, 22 January 2019, not yet in force (Aachen Treaty), available at: