French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel met in Aachen (Western Germany) on 22 January to sign a new treaty deepening the 1963 post-war reconciliation Elysée agreement. The Aachen treaty states that “both states will deepen their cooperation in foreign affairs, defence, external and internal security and development and at the same time work on strengthening the ability of Europe to act independently”.
With the end of May European elections coming, populist parties set to gain ground, and the “Yellow vests” demonstrating against Macron’s social policies every weekend, their purpose was to “show that the European Union’s main axis remains strong and it will be able to counter increasing euroscepticism and nationalism in Europe”, notes EUobserver.