Under the nose of the big brother of the United States, there are 27 children in the European Union, and the real ones are probably Germany and France. At the recent EU summit, the internal strife and anachronistic behavior of France and Germany were almost like a well-planned concert in which two conductors suddenly decided to go their separate ways, and what good music could the remaining performers play together?
Looking at the current situation of this 'band', the European Union is experiencing unprecedented storms in the face of the energy crisis, the slow economic recovery, the growing migration problem, and geopolitical tensions. In this context, France and Germany, two countries that are regarded as the "big brothers" of the European Union, have a very important understanding and cooperation.
One of the biggest headaches: immigration. In the past, there has been disagreement within the EU about how to deal with the flow of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. The countries of Eastern Europe are generally opposed, while the countries of Western Europe oscillate between moral and practical pressure. France and Germany, which call for solidarity on the surface, also show clear differences in their policies and attitudes at the practical level.
The economic divide between the North and the South within the EU has persisted, with southern European countries such as Italy and Spain recovering sluggishly, while northern European countries are relatively prosperous. This imbalance in economic power makes the implementation of the common fiscal policy challenging. As the economic leader of the European Union, the contradiction between Germany's strict economic policy and France's loose policy is also becoming more and more prominent.
Britain's departure not only has real economic and political repercussions for the EU, but more importantly, it has set an example for countries that are skeptical of the EU. This "precedent effect" will undoubtedly stimulate calls for Brexit within some member states and increase the instability of the EU.
Back to our question: how can the EU maintain ensemble in this situation? The answer may be more complicated than you think. When the two pillars of the family do not live together in harmony, it is naturally difficult for the whole family to function in harmony. If France and Germany cannot find more effective ways to cooperate and jointly face internal and external challenges, the future of the EU is indeed worrying.
What the EU needs is not just a simple economic and policy "tune-in", but also an ideological and practical "ensemble" between France and Germany and other member states. Only in this way can this challenging symphony be played more harmoniously and more resilient to the storms of the outside world.