On 22 January, exactly 56 years after the signing of the Élysée Treaty, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron signed a new bilateral cooperation treaty: the Treaty of Aachen. It sets the stage for the next 56 years of Franco-German relations. It is thus not surprising that it is heavier on symbols and lighter on concrete ways forward. However, the Franco-German friendship faces a crucial test in the next two to three years. We thus need pragmatic and immediate action that takes us beyond symbols, across divergence, and towards ambitious aims.

This policy position by  Valentin Kreilinger, Dr. Nicole Koenig, and Paul-Jasper Dittrich from the Jacques Delors Institute – Berlin takes a second look at the Treaty and the list of 15 priority projects and shows what this means for three key issues: security policy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the link to parliaments.