France and Germany are at loggerheads on issues of budget and joint debt. The French president wants member states to take up new EU joint debt and make bold investment plans in the wake of fiercer competition from China and the U.S.
Germany and the so-called frugal nations are reluctant to follow France’s lead.
In Dresden, however, Macron appeared undeterred. “Europe needs a massive investment shock to meet its challenges,” he said. “Two times more joint public investment.” This should be done, he continued, either by doubling “the size of the budget, through common borrowing strategies or the instruments that already exist.”
The issue of Europe’s competitiveness will feature in talks on Tuesday between Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, an Elysée official said ahead of the French president’s three-day state visit to Germany.
The French president’s visit comes two weeks ahead of a European election that could see losses for pro-European forces and big wins for the far right across the continent. Both Macron and Scholz face potentially humiliating defeats, with the French president’s party polling 15 percent behind the far right, and coalition parties in Germany also facing a beating.