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12/2020: France, Germany and the future of democracy in Europe

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to pose huge challenges for Europe and requires unprecedented transnational responses. We need intensive Franco-German cooperation as a driving force for ambitious European answers to the crisis now more than ever. How can Germany and France prepare their societies for the challenges of tomorrow? How can they develop a common approach? Under the title “Time to act: A new strategic agenda for Franco-German cooperation in Europe“ the launch of our flagship event on 1 and 2 December 2020 brought together about 40 renowned German and French representatives from economy, politics, research and civil society for a two-day conference. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event had to take place online. 

We discussed how a green and socially viable recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic could look like, obtained insight about the digitalisation of French and German societies, and mapped a new strategic Franco-German agenda to address social, economic, environmental and democratic challenges. The conference featured prominent speakers. Amongst them were Michael Roth (German State Minister for Europe), Pascal Lamy (President of the Paris Peace Forum and former Director General of the WTO), Joachim Lang (Chief Executive of the Federation of German Industry), Philippe Martin (Chair of the French Council of Economic Analysis), and Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul (Deputy Secretary General for the Citizens Consultations on Europe).

The concluding public discussion “France, Germany and the future of democracy in Europe“ addressed the roles of France and Germany regarding the future of democracy in Europe. The speakers stressed upcoming developments and envisioned further possibilities of cooperation.

SPEAKERS OF THE PUBLIC ONLINE EVENT

Christophe Arend, Co-President of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly, Member of the French National Assembly (LREM)
Franziska Brantner, 
Member of the German Bundestag (Greens), spokeswoman for European policy
Ellen Ehni, 
TV chief editor of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)
Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul, Deputy Head of the Citizens’ dialogues Unit in the European CommissionModerator: Thu Nguyen, Policy fellow Jacques Delors Centre

What does democracy mean in 2020? And how can we imagine the future of democracy in France, Germany and Europe? Find out more in the follow-up report of our online discussion on 2 December 2020.

France, Germany and the future of Europe

What does democracy mean in 2020? And how can we imagine the future of democracy in France, Germany and Europe? Click on the video above to view the full discussion from the Pariser Platz Conference (2 December 2020).

Find out more in the follow-up report of our online discussion.

Image: Soroush Karimi, Source: Unsplash

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