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Franco-German Friendship (1963)

After the federal government approved a preamble emphasizing Germany’s ties to NATO, the Bundestag ratified the Elysée Treaty. The treaty was not only of great symbolic and historic importance in the ongoing French-German reconciliation, it also laid the foundation for diverse bilateral exchanges at the social, political, and economic levels.

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Joint Declaration


The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Konrad Adenauer, and the President of the French Republic, General de Gaulle,

At the close of the conference held in Paris on 21st and 22nd January 1963 and attended on the German side by the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Federal Minister of Defense and the Federal Minister for Family and Youth Affairs, and on the French side by the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Armed Forces Minister and the Minister of Education,

Convinced that the reconciliation of the German people and the French people, ending a centuries-old rivalry, constitutes a historic event which profoundly transforms the relations between the two peoples,

Conscious of the solidarity uniting the two peoples from the point of view of both their security and their economic and cultural development,

Aware in particular that youth has recognized this solidarity and is called upon to play a decisive part in the consolidation of Franco-German friendship,

Recognizing that increased co-operation between the two countries constitutes an indispensable stage on the way to a united Europe, which is the aim of the two peoples:

Have agreed to the organization and principles of co-operation between the two States as set out in the treaty signed today.

Done at Paris on 22nd January 1963 in duplicate in the German and French languages.


The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
Adenauer

The President of the French Republic
C. de Gaulle



Source of English translation: “Text of the Franco-German Treaty signed in Paris (22nd January 1963)”, in Western European Union Assembly-General Affairs Committee: A Retrospective View of the Political Year in Europe 1963. March 1964, p. 29f.

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