23 January 2019

Politico: Macron and Merkel’s treaty tests European nerves

Probably the most tangible outcomes of the treaty relate to cross-border cooperation, transport and trade: Both sides want to create "a Franco-German economic area" that cuts bureaucratic hurdles and establishes common regulations, laws and taxes for business on both sides of the Rhine.

However, Merkel cautioned this was a long-term project. "Take, for example, business taxes or insolvency law — much is historically structured in very different ways," the chancellor said during the discussion. "We won't change that overnight, it will take two decades."[...]

The French president, who is facing fierce opposition at home from the Yellow Jackets movement — about 100 of them gathered outside the Aachen town hall to barrack him with howling and whistling — also hit back at opponents of the treaty such as National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, who has accused Macron of handing the Alsace and Lorraine border regions back to German tutelage.

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