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Reason to Celebrate
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Fans: Young people
wave German and French flags at Elysée events in Berlin.
Dpa photo |
 Calender
of Events in the US
With fanfare and ceremony, in grand gatherings and small meetings,
in Paris and in Berlin, Germans and French celebrated the 40th anniversary
of the signing of the Elysée Treaty in a flurry of events on January
22 and 23. After a joint cabinet meeting, both countries’
entire parliaments met in an unprecedented joint session at Versailles
on Wednesday in the presence of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Prime
Minister Jacques Chirac. In Berlin the next day, Schröder and Chirac
gave considerable time to discuss a range of issues with 500 young people
gathered for the Franco-German Youth Parliament. And the French Embassy
was inaugurated in its prime location on Pariser Platz at the Brandenburg
Gate.
In their speeches to the two parliaments, both Schröder and Chirac
spoke of the legacy of the German-French Friendship Treaty signed at the
Elysée Palace in Paris on January 22, 1963, by Chancellor Konrad
Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle.
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History: The German
Bundestag and French National Assembly meet in joint session at
Versailles. Dpa photo |
“We know that in Europe, little progress is made if Germany and
France are not in agreement,” Schröder said in his speech at
Versailles. “Much that has been realized through bilateral agreement
is also suited to smoothing the contradictions and differences of opinions
that time and again develop between other European partners.” In
the future, Schröder said, the relationship between Germany and France
will have to continue to be as energetic and dynamic for a modern interpretation
of the Elysée Treaty. Its content, he said, remains an obligation
for the people of both countries – obligation to reconcilliation,
to freedom and justice, and to the responsibility for a common Europe.
From now on, Chirac said in his speech, Versailles, a place marked in
the collective memory of Germany and France, will symbolize the brotherhood
between the two countries as well as on the continent as a whole.
In a joint declaration adopted on January 22, Germany and France agreed
to, among other things:
• Closer cooperation in foreign, security and defense policy; economic
and financial policy; and in legislation.
• A longterm goal of dual citizenship
• Future joint cabinet meetings at the regularly held German-French
governmental consultations.
• And from now on, January 22 will be known as German-French Day
and will be used to promote the partner country in educational institutions.
Also, leading up to the Elysée anniversary, Germany and France
submitted joint proposals to the European Convention on issues relating
to EU enlargement as well as reform of EU institutions.
Calendar of Events
Washington
January 17 — Seminar on the future of Franco-German relations organized
by the Brookings Institution and the American Institute for Contemporary
German Studies.
January 21 — Reception hosted jointly by the French and German administrators
at the World Bank and the IMF World Bank
January 22 — Reception hosted by the ambassadors of France and Germany
at the Maison Française.
The German School Washington and the Lycée Rochambeau: Roundtable
bringing together French, German and American students; presentation of
the history of Franco-German relations and prospects of the European Union;
performance by school children; sporting events.
February 3 — First in a series of six jazz concerts by French and
German musicians at the Maison Française. These concerts will be
rebroadcast on NPR.
March 27 — Lecture/debate on "Franco-German Military Cooperation,
Yesterday and Today" in the auditorium of the German Embassy, with
the cooperation of the European Institute and the participation of senior
officers from Franco-German units and military historians.
March — Screening of the six ARTE documentaries "Europe Watches
America".
September 2003 — "Teaching Europe" Program in Washington,
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Virginia to educate American teachers and
scholars about European issues.
Fall 2003 — Franco-German film festival and exhibition of German
and French photographs. Dates to be announced.
Roundtables on business topics in cooperation with the French-American
and German-American Chambers of Commerce and the European Business Council
(EABC).
Atlanta
January 22 — Joint reception hosted by the two consuls-general.
Boston
February 3 — Debate at the Goethe Institut on the role of Franco-German
cooperation in the building of Europe, followed by a reception at the
French Library.
October — Colloquium on French and German literature, organized
with the Goethe Institut.
Chicago
January 22 — Conference on "The Ongoing Impact of Franco-German
Reconciliation on World Affairs," organized by the Chicago Council
on Foreign Relations.
Late September — Colloquium: "France-Germany: Cultural Exchanges
Yesterday and Today." Exhibition of canvases by Colette Brunschwig.
Reading of poems by Paul Celan. Concert featuring contemporary French
and German works.
Houston
January 22 — Dinner for the Franco-German community
January 23/24 — Lecture by the two consuls-general on Franco-German
relations at the University of Texas.
Exhibit at the Alliance Française on the Elysée Treaty and
Franco-German relations.
New Orleans
January 22 — Joint reception
February 3-7 — Presentation of the six ARTE documentaries "Europe
Watches America" at Loyola University.
March 16-23 — Reading of a work by Heinrich von Kleist during the
university French-language theater festival.
Los Angeles
January 22 — Joint reception
May 13-29 — Screening of the six ARTE documentaries "Europe
Watches America" at Goethe Institut locations
Miami
January 22 — Performance by French and German high school students;
lecture at the University of Miami on Franco-German relations followed
by a reception.
January 24 — Franco-German movie night with films from Germany and
France at the Alliance Française.
January — Franco-German culture week at the Alliance Française.
Exhibition and concert.
New York
February 27 — Colloquium at Columbia University on relations between
France, Germany and the United States.
March 20 — Joint meeting of the French-American and German-American
Chambers of Commerce on international career development programs.
Joint program by the French Institute/Alliance Française and the
Goethe Institut to train 150 teachers from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
on the theme "Teaching Europe."
San Francisco
January 22 — Joint reception
May — Screening of the six ARTE documentaries "Europe Watches
America" at the Pacific Film Archives, the Goethe Institut and the
Alliance Française.
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