The Franco-German alliance must remain the engine that drives Europe, German opposition leader Angela Merkel told French leaders on Tuesday, despite her vow to reshape the two countries' relationship if she comes to power.
During a visit to Paris, Merkel sought to reassure President Jacques Chirac that France will continue to be Germany's key partner even if she ousts his friend and ally Gerhard Schroeder as chancellor in an election expected this year.
"We had an excellent meeting, marked by the idea of Franco-German friendship - the awareness that future European construction depends very much on Franco-German relations," Merkel told reporters after talks with Chirac.
"All initiatives taken must be open to all European countries, but France and Germany must be the engine of these initiatives," she said at Chirac's Elysee Palace.
Chirac told Merkel the Berlin-Paris partnership was an irreplaceable driver of European integration and must promote major plans for Europe which all 25 European Union states can be part of, a spokesman for the president said.
Chirac pointedly spoke to his friend Schroeder before the talks and did not talk to reporters alongside Merkel.
Expected early elections in Germany, where Merkel is well ahead in opinion polls, and Chirac's weakness since losing a May 29 referendum on the EU constitution could bring a shift in the Franco-German relationship that has powered Europe for decades.
Merkel, 51, was also due to meet French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, a Chirac rival who hopes to be elected president in 2007. The emergence of Merkel and Sarkozy is seen by some as signalling change in Europe. Both have underlined the importance of ties with the United States and they share many ideas on the future of the EU.
"It is interesting that Merkel is going to see Sarkozy as well. It gives people the sense of a new broom sweeping through Europe," said Mark Leonard, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform in London.
Merkel, the leader of the centre-right Christian Democrats, has called for an overhaul of EU policy, criticising agricultural subsidies that mainly benefit French farmers and urging closer ties to newer member states in Eastern Europe.
Political analysts say her remarks point to a potentially major shift in German foreign policy if Merkel is elected.
The partnership of the two former rivals, Paris and Berlin, has been a cornerstone of both countries' European policy since 1963. They consult each other constantly and their decisions often set the tone for EU action. Merkel, whose Christian Democrats hold a 15-19 percentage point opinion poll lead, has criticised Schroeder and Chirac for damaging relations with the United States through their fierce opposition to the US-led war in Iraq in 2003.
But Merkel is also aware that strong Franco-German relations remain essential on key integration issues in the EU, which is going through a confidence crisis since French and Dutch voters rejected the EU constitution.
"A main reason for her visit to France is to show German voters that she will not turn her back on everything Germany has done over the past years and focus solely on the alliance with Washington," said political analyst Francois Heisbourg.
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