French and German foreign ministers share joint travel agenda

  • 10 years ago
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier met on Tuesday to reinforce relations between the two countries over common issues.

Their first joint visits will be to Georgia and Moldova, which both have EU aspirations.

At a joint news conference, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said: “From the perspective of the European elections we have chosen to travel together to underline the significance of the European Union to our co-citizens and the ambitions we have for its future.”

One of the aims is to adopt concrete measures together to tackle troubled countries skirting the EU or in the Arab-Muslim world, which are thought to hint at the Ukraine and Tunisia.

The ministers share a common political bond – both belong to the Party of European Socialists and at home in Germany, Steinmeier is part of a grand coalition government led by centre-right Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Despite the show of unity, Germany stressed its reluctance to send troops to Africa. Instead, Steinmeier thanked France for its military operations in Mali and the Central African Republic.

Recommended