France Must Reform Before Building a Franco-German Engine

Posted: June 28th, 2017

By Steven Kramer

Steven Philip Kramer served as the Policy Advisor to the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs from 1996-2002. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He serves as the Professor of Grand Strategy at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University in Washington, D.C. His books include Does France still Count: The French Role in the New Europe, Trouble in Paradise? Europe in the 21st Century, coauthored with Professor Irene Kyriakopoulos, and Socialism in Western Europe: The Experience of a Generation.

Will French President Emmanuel Macron be able to work with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to restore a fracturing European Union to a position of strength? The Cipher Brief’s Kaitlin Lavinder talked with Steven Kramer, a former policy advisor to the U.S. State Department from 1996 to 2002; Kramer said the answer to the question hinges on Macron’s domestic success.

The Cipher Brief: Do you think that this idea of a renewed Franco-German engine is overstated?

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