good openness, a live living, what is on vital democracy is crucial and it is the signal that we are sending out of the european for your future conference which has been sent i to day from sto, hasbrook in 2022. we agree that the good ideas of emerging from this conference put forward by global citizens will make the european union stronger, more sovereign, and we will support these ideas. an important cigna is also being sent on to the western vulcan side countries. we norcross dick to our promises for accession that was in the blood. obstacles in the way must be of a come thinner if you wish to flurry from european responsibility angio strategic reason. and i'm pleased that you emphasize this once again. so clearly, because it's afternoonish rascal than we agreed for ukraine is a member of the european family, auburn dasanya dio, working like

a blue oval pot pave the way for ukraine to remain in the process of escalating part of europe and come even closer to us. and log in until you get the applications are being processed and the commission will soon present its a script of results by tying up to them. but it's also important that we work ever more closely together within europe, you know, within the european union. but who knows and beyond property if we are talking about the democratic and sky state, so sincere on our continent, there are some very interesting proposals. and i look forward to the discussion with you and allow your team council colleagues. we have a lot to talk about freedom in rural poor douglas and peace in europe on for worked on design. and you know, it remains the case that we stand money to with ukraine. we supported them from home, decent reach, morally, financially, and militarily, as well with weapons social. it cannot be the case that borders in europe can be

moved around to route through violence, booked. and we will do everything we can to ensure that the war does not spread to other countries and to enhance our defense capabilities. thus, in the coming special counselor at the end of may, we will be debating, advertise how we can better coordinate our investments into defense within the european union. and in that context, we also want to ensure that our law firm up to it and you'll be good with military it's project. a german french project continues. we'll be talking within nato about the need for adapting our military situation that comes to cope with the art situations that we have now. but security isn't just about military security. there are many other issues that we must address one, what's the impact of climate change? this is dramatic and bones and without you. so completely changing i bought in again energy system to get away from fossil fuels towards renewables. shopping,

which will be accelerated through the war for english. and we will not manage to attack a climate change without going through this process. i would also like to say that told i congratulate france order for it's european presidency. the for the goals, please. a very difficult times. it's a challenge. we need to ensure the reliable supply of energy as well as keeping the prices of the charts for consumer boards 50 miles to stable harvest. another issue on the agenda trip in fine bowl is that we want to quickly reach an agreement about integrating into the a you with regard to the western volcanic game. these are all goals that we want to make progress with in connection with france. and this is why we have said that as quickly as after the parliamentary elections in france was in july. we want to meet for a german french ministerial meeting to put new dynamism in europe,

one in my noel. i'm looking forward to that and to your remarks. thank young. have bonus counsellor. he wrote without you, chancellor. who does i love him? nothing you olaf thank you for inviting me to berlin. i'm very, very pleased to see you here in berlin and it is the 2nd trip aft of my reelection. and it was false in a bottle without a doubt that with this trip, i would also underwrite and underscore the franco german friendship. and it is a friendship that is more all the more important because i'll schedule and we are in a meeting at this particular moment. in 9th of the but he may nickel mom in order to promote miss unique political, the project that germany and france have both forged in overcoming the dp. you challenge that you let me see here as

a follow up of the cataclysmic event. so for mid 20th century, separated us and i'm really looking forward to launch or build things great things together or not be shown, you know, in the coming years or as well then together we will go till the def tray to europe, that is stronger. that is and go from things have only gone from prepared in order to tackle a great challenge as we know, no one equals what those challenges are. we know the challenges in terms of digitalization and you happily environmental protection and also all those other challenges that involve fly mobilization in both of our country. so it's a lot of work to be done gently. and we can 1st of all, obviously young bilateral level. and we will go nelson in tackle that we will need to when a, me strengthen that academic guardian at scientific, galen and educational corporation. and that we will also strengthen our off or common hall and joint positions in terms of defense and foreign policy. and germany

actually plays a very, very structural and melting vital role in all of these topics. and what i am very pleased about addison semantic and say to me, and we also look forward to elevated, celebrating a franco german ministerial meeting. he put it that will also tie those sit leslie to a project and on the on will it pushes forward on i will obviously right now the war that russia new to launch it in ukraine, not on the local as a youth impact on all of us on our citizens, on our european v as your sample with and above this, it has led to your fit joint action in 1st of all in order if, if you try and stop this warrant and nuances. and since the 24th of february until february, to try to achieve decline, it is a clear song. sunni knows no fully, some kind of cessation of hostilities, severe and the not to protect the p ukrainian joy of young. the for europe in our

generation want to know is facing the return of war on our continent. but let democracy, we need to deal with everything in order to protect a democracy, to stand shoulder, to shoulder with ukraine while protecting our local citizens. if you didn't golden, we will continue our close coordination as we've done on ever since the beginning. and we are in ukraine and we will continue to here help ukraine on the as we've done the last weeks. and we will also increase you and add new sanction this is you want the family put on these topics, know that till the next couple of days there will be important decisions to be made at the european level i. we will be talking about this tonight more this evening and tomorrow and we will absolutely, the men defend the unity of europe as we have done in the last couple of months down here. as we've shown young last week, also in terms of financial humanitarian and military aid,

we will continue to provide assistance. obviously, this is a full war, requires a strong level of coordination of it. and we need to strengthen our european ambition and that we've established that it franco, german, one on the axis. and there will be important decisions coming up at the end of may on an that an important european north. the summit on this topic included with will have additional decisions to take also on the back of the decisions an initiative that were taken by the german presidency. so in terms of energy, we need to reduce our dependence on we are the russian fossil fuel imports, which is also in aligned with our environmental conditions. and we also need to protect our citizens and companies from the, all of this switch and change. and therefore, we need to take it at decisions we've done this already. we initially did this with

you a couple of weeks ago, but we need to strengthen and accelerate the process of phasing out russian fossil fuels in order to reduce and finally phase out our dependence on russian employees for level 2. obviously we should not forget it. the a fundamental issues that we will continue to work on. we will work for on the fit for 55 project. we have investment topics to talk about and also neighborhood policies in particular the of the situation in western balkans as well. the chancellor just mother just reminded us, therefore we will have a western balkan summit that will be celebrated in june. and that will be our european summit. and while the franco little german corporation will work strenuously in order to prepare an integrity to ensure that we can then it comes from the sol difference that exists and lashanda to establish the european agenda.

that is the agenda of the countries of this continent. i have several propositions duly make, and we've already talked about these or touched upon them. but i can say in general that we both share the conviction that is of one and above and beyond the continental issues, we need to rethink the european joint space. that is why this robert yell a bit of the european policy was, propose this morning on geopolitical issues in order to tackle, eat a demo to take on. obviously above and beyond that we have international issues. so to take up that are also very important deals with it and germany is the president of the g set. and we are currently a buffet presiding the european council. and we are very happy to coordinate arkell efforts also against this backdrop and above and beyond that, obviously, we are european, committed europeans together with our allies. and together with the country is

organized and g set in the g 7 at 7. and any of these are the go situation in ukraine, we work together and i've been on campus and we also work together in order to ensure that actually meet on don't get any food safety and security amendment is little saved. and salvage also sourcing and protected at a global level, particularly against the threat of the war and shortages. and therefore we work together on these topics. and we will also continue on our coordination on further international core issues. for example, the situation in china, we will have the ability also to speak to the president of china in the coming hours and it was here. okay, good, move. so and leave, okay. that a few words i had that is what i wanted to touch upon upon the going on in terms of our common agenda and coordination, trying at the international level. but there's also the story of

a friendship. and that is really the found meaning of my presence here in berlin. here the chancellor re at your side, do your all of and thank you very much. it is a real honor for me at the 9th, the on this night, the made to be standing at your side here. thank you very much off of you or is it just joining us here at the w is a very warm, a welcome. we've just seen german chancellor shelton, french president, a man michael speaking right here in berlin. the chancellor. a started out by stressing the significance of the franco german ties for your p also touched on the importance of ensuring the reliable supply of energy. looking at president a man my call and the, the french president acknowledge the deep impact the war on ukraine is having on europe as a whole. let's find out a lot more political. correspond 70 is here still with me signing up. they went

beyond the usual niceties. yes. well, they started both with those niceties. i think you know that that is worth saying, you know, that they come back. so it came back to that possibly slightly tie the image of the locomotive, the franco german locomotive up the hall of europe. he mentioned that, but he said that's really the key to taking the european project forward. and certainly both leaders talked in these terms. you had a manual micro the end there, again saying, you know, it's really about friendship and, you know, trying to convince the, the journalists at least, that, you know, there's a warm personal relationship between these 2 because they've known each other for a long time because not only a manual nicole but only shows himself as previously as finance minister under england, michael has been on the international scene for a long time. so there is a, a personal connection, but no doubt it can grow in the,

in the context of the meetings they're able to have now as, as equals, as it were leaders of their countries. and yeah, i think it showed saying that, you know, it's important for us to germany, work together. he said it, of course, all of europe must work together with the tackle the challenges successfully. again, it's hard to gauge in each sentence, to what extent that we're talking about how to deal with the war in ukraine, which of course, does inform, you know, pretty much every, every aspect of not just this relationship, but all the european relationships at the moment. and as you mentioned, both men touched on the question of energy, a slight difference, perhaps in the approach field saying, well what we need to do is ensure the reliability of supply and make sure that prices are affordable because because he like, oh politicians at the moment has an eye on those high energy prices and what they mean for consumers in particular, and voters

a manual macro talking more. and really, i thought, saying we need to reduce our dependence on russian fossil fuels to make that because i thought that was a really salient moment because you had, when all the shots, you know, said we need to ensure reliable energy supplies. he really directly looked at the, at the french president, and like you said, it wasn't watered down the response that he got from the fresh president a little bit later on. but it's clear that for france, this isn't as crucial as imperative as it is for germany. absolute is a bottom line issue, isn't it? the germans, germany imports a much larger amount of its fossil improve its energy supply from russia directly. they've been reducing that, they really have been working on the oil imports of come down. and you know, i don't know about a, about a 3rd of what they were just a few months ago.