Treaty of the Elysée

German chancellor from 1949-63, who signed the original EC Treaty and the French-German Elysée Treaty in 1963 (Photo: European Commission)

Treaty of the Elysée

The cooperation agreement between Germany and France dating from 1963. Both countries agreed to coordinate main elements of their policies, including foreign policy, through regular and frequent meeting.

The Treaty has been the formal legal basis for many joint inittiatives, which also have subsequently been discussed by the eu as a whole. 

Following some temporary disgruntlements, the German-French alliance was given new life in 2003 on the occasion of the 40^th anniversary of the Elysée-Treaty through a common Declaration.

Furthermore, the two countries’ foreign ministers, Dominique de Villepin and Joschka Fischer, have been members of the Convention of the Future of Europe and have put forward common proposals on Defence, Justice and Home Affairs, and institutional questions.