© Reuters. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron are on their way for a private dinner at the"Kochzimmer" restaurant in Potsdam outside Berlin, Germany, June 6, 2023.
"The Franco-German relationship, and as a result Europe, is not living up to the challenges we are currently facing," said Jacob Ross at the German Council on Foreign Relations. A lack of chemistry between the charismatic Macron and tight-lipped German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also made it more difficult also for both governments to hammer out their differences, say lawmakers and diplomats.
The two-day retreat in the northern port city of Hamburg, where Scholz was mayor from 2011 to 2018, aims to put the relationship on a new footing rather than to yield concrete policy initiatives.