175-633: France–Germany relations or the Franco-German relations form a part of the wider politics of the European Union . The two countries have a long – and often contentious – relationship stretching back to the Middle Ages . After World War II , the two nations have largely reconciled. Since the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1958, they have been among the founders and leading members of
350-603: A scorched earth policy that caused a large public outcry at the time, French troops devastated large parts of the Palatinate, burning down and levelling numerous cities and towns in southern Germany. In the 18th century, the rise of Prussia as a new German power caused the Diplomatic Revolution and an alliance between France, the Habsburgs and Russia, manifested in 1756 in the Treaty of Versailles and
525-410: A Franco-German federation was a proposed merger between France and Germany after the end of World War II. The idea was promoted by French politician Robert Schuman in his declaration on May 9, 1950, which is now celebrated as Europe Day. The aim of the proposal was to create a lasting peace between the two countries and to promote economic cooperation. The Franco-German federation proposal envisioned
700-593: A baby in 1500. Charles's mother went into labour at a ball in February 1500. He was named in honour of Charles the Bold of Burgundy, who had tried to turn the Burgundian State into a continuous territory. When Charles was born, a poet at the court reported that the people of Ghent "shouted Austria and Burgundy throughout the whole city for three hours" to celebrate his birth. Given the dynastic situation,
875-706: A certain extent like national parties, receive public funding from the European Union, and put forward manifestos during the campaigns for the European elections. European parties are horizontally present in all the main institutions – Council, Commission, Parliament – but are most active through their political groups of the European Parliament . At the beginning of every parliamentary term, European parties organise themselves, including with non-member national parties or independent candidates, to form
1050-475: A combined total of only 5,000 members. When war broke out in 1914, recovery of the two lost provinces became France's primary war aim. After Bismarck's removal in 1890, French efforts to isolate Germany became successful; with the formation of the Triple Entente , Germany began to feel encircled. Foreign minister Delcassé, especially, went to great pains to woo Russia and Great Britain. Key markers were
1225-400: A common government, currency, and military. It also sought to establish a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which would integrate the coal and steel industries of France and Germany. The ECSC was created in 1952 and was the first step toward the creation of the European Union . While the idea of a Franco-German federation never fully materialized, the proposal laid the foundation for
1400-415: A healthy business environment. Rulings were confined to laws covering trade, currency, and competition. Increases in the number of EU competences result from a process known as functional spillover. Functional spillover resulted in, first, the integration of banking and insurance industries to manage finance and investment. The size of the bureaucracies increased, requiring modifications to the treaty system as
1575-506: A layer of "insulation" between themselves and the EU. The surprisingly close vote on Scottish Independence in September 2014 may be seen in this context. Others have suggested that regions of Germany could be candidates for "Euro-Balkanisation", particularly given Germany's commitment to the EU project and to a more nuanced, mature view of the notion of national allegiance. Public trust in
1750-785: A member of the Austrian House of Habsburg , inherited the Low Countries and the Franche-Comté in 1506. When he also inherited Spain in 1516, France was surrounded by Habsburg territories and felt under pressure. The resulting tension between the two powers caused a number of conflicts such as the War of the Spanish Succession , until the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 made them allies against Prussia . The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), devastating large parts of
1925-645: A monastery. Indeed, his son and heir, later Philip II of Spain , was born and raised in Castile. Nonetheless, many Spaniards believed that their resources (largely consisting of flows of silver from the Americas) were being used to sustain Imperial-Habsburg policies that were not in the country's interest. Charles inherited the Austrian hereditary lands in 1519, as Charles I of Austria , and obtained
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#17327648091522100-458: A new Reform Treaty was ratified by all member states of the European Union, and took effect on 1 December 2009. Enlargement of the Union's membership is a major political issue, with division over how far the bloc should expand. While some see it as a major policy instrument aiding the Union's development, some fear over-stretch and dilution of the Union. "Counter-nationalistic shearing stress"
2275-418: A patchwork of policy and planning, which contributes to the unwieldiness of the EU. The pastiche of treaties, and not a single actualising charter of government, form the constitutional basis of the European Union. This ambiguity is what critics call a primary cause of " democratic deficit ." The EU itself is a legal personality and a set of governing institutions empowered by the treaties. However sovereignty
2450-578: A political group. No European party has ever held a majority in the European Parliament, however this does not have a great impact, as European parties or groups do not form a government; however, pro-European political parties usually agree among themselves to elect the President of the European Parliament . The EU's chief diplomat, sometimes dubbed its foreign minister , is the High Representative , Josep Borrell . The foreign policy of
2625-652: A rerun of 1914–18. There was little enthusiasm and much dread in France at the prospect of actual warfare after the Phoney War . When the Germans launched their blitzkrieg invasion of France in 1940, the French Army crumbled within weeks, and with Britain retreating, an atmosphere of humiliation and defeat swept France. A new government under Marshal Philippe Pétain surrendered, and German forces occupied most of
2800-502: A series of treaties. British Foreign Minister Austen Chamberlain enthusiastically agreed. France realized that its occupation of the Ruhr had caused more financial and diplomatic damage than it was worth and went along with the plan. They convened a conference of foreign ministers in the Swiss resort of Locarno and worked out the treaties. The first was the most critical: a mutual guarantee of
2975-520: A state or local level ( subsidiarity ) when acting outside its exclusive competences. The principle of subsidiarity does not apply to areas of exclusive competence. The common institutions mix the intergovernmental and supranational (similar to federal) aspects of the EU. The EU treaties declare the Union to be based on representative democracy , and direct elections take place in the European Parliament . The Parliament, together with
3150-536: A surviving Trastámara heir to the throne, so Charles remained the heir presumptive to the Iberian realms. With his father dead and his mother confined, Charles became Duke of Burgundy and was recognised as Prince of Asturias (heir presumptive of Castile) and honorific Archduke (heir apparent of Austria). The Burgundian inheritance included the Habsburg Netherlands , which consisted of a large number of
3325-734: A sword and a helmet, objects of Burgundian chivalric tradition representing, respectively, the instrument of war and the symbol of peace. The death in July 1500 of the young heir presumptive Miguel de Paz to the Iberian realms of his maternal grandparents meant baby Charles's future inheritance potentially expanded to include Castile, Aragon, and the overseas possessions in the Americas. In 1501, his parents Philip and Joanna left Charles in care of Philip's step-grandmother Margaret of York in Mechelen and went to Spain. The main goal of their Spanish mission
3500-650: A young age. After his father's death in 1506, he inherited the Low Countries. In 1516 he became King of Spain as co-monarch of Castile and Aragon with his mother . Spain 's possessions included the Castilian colonies of the West Indies and the Spanish Main , as well as Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia. At the death of his grandfather Maximilian in 1519, he inherited the Austrian hereditary lands and
3675-426: Is based on the Élysée Treaty , which was signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer on 22 January 1963. The treaty contained a number of agreements for joint cooperation in foreign policy, economic and military integration and exchange of student education. The treaty was signed under difficult political situations at that time and criticized both by opposition parties in France and West Germany, as well as from
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#17327648091523850-615: Is composed of the Council members plus an equal number of MEPs who seek to agree a common position. Once a position is agreed, it has to be approved by Parliament again by an absolute majority . There are other special procedures used in sensitive areas which reduce the power of Parliament. The European Parliament shares the legislative and budgetary authority of the Union with the council. Its 705 members are elected every five years by universal suffrage and sit according to political allegiance . It represents all European Citizens in
4025-479: Is designed to be independent of national interests. The body is responsible for drafting all law of the European Union and has a monopoly over legislative initiative . It also deals with the day-to-day running of the Union and has a duty to uphold the law and treaties (in this role it is known as the "Guardian of the Treaties"). The commission is led by a President who is nominated by the council (in practice
4200-472: Is not invested in those institutions, it is pooled with ultimate sovereignty resting with the state governments. Yet in those areas where the EU has been granted competences, it does have the power to pass binding and direct laws upon its members. The competences of the European Union stem from the original Coal and Steel Community, which had as its goal an integrated market. The original competences were regulatory in nature, restricted to matters of maintaining
4375-404: Is similar to a confederation , where many policy areas are federalised into common institutions capable of making law; the competences to control foreign policy , defence policy , or the majority of direct taxation policies are mostly reserved for the twenty-seven state governments (the Union does limit the level of variation allowed for VAT ). These areas are primarily under the control of
4550-410: Is the term coined by one commentator for the theoretical tendency of certain regions of larger countries of the EU to wish to become fully independent members within the wider context of the European Union's "bigger umbrella". If the Union is to become "ever closer", it follows that regions with their own distinctive histories and identities within the existing member nations may see little reason to have
4725-633: Is to say, modify the right of the succession, except by virtue of a formal agreement between the Corts and the King. So, upon the death of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, on 23 January 1516, Joanna inherited the Crown of Aragon , which consisted of Aragon , Majorca , Catalonia , Valencia , Naples , Sicily and Sardinia , while Charles became governor general. Nevertheless, the Flemings wished Charles to assume
4900-581: The Battle of Pavia in 1525. To gain his freedom, Francis ceded Burgundy to Charles in the Treaty of Madrid , as well as renouncing his support of Henry II's claim over Navarre . When he was released, however, Francis had the Parlement of Paris denounce the treaty because it had been signed under duress. France then joined the League of Cognac that Pope Clement VII had formed with Henry VIII of England,
5075-470: The Battle of Pavia . In 1535, Francesco II Sforza died without heirs, and Charles V annexed the territory as a vacant Imperial state with the help of Massimiliano Stampa , one of the most influential courtiers of the late Duke. Charles successfully held on to all of its Italian territories, though they were invaded again on multiple occasions during the Italian Wars . In addition, Habsburg trade in
5250-521: The Battle of the Nations at Leipzig, also marked the beginning of what was explicitly called French–German hereditary enmity . Napoleon directly incorporated German-speaking areas such as the Rhineland and Hamburg into his First French Empire and treated the monarchs of the remaining German states as vassals. Modern German nationalism was born in opposition to French domination, under Napoleon. In
5425-650: The Burgundian Netherlands . Charles's mother Joanna was a younger daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile , the Catholic Monarchs of Spain from the House of Trastámara . The political marriage of Philip and Joanna was first conceived in a letter sent by Maximilian to Ferdinand to seal an Austro-Spanish alliance, established as part of the League of Venice directed against
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5600-867: The Common Agricultural Policy or the Research and Technological Development Policy . France's demand to lower the VAT in catering was refused. Controversial issues during budget debates include the British rebate, France's benefits from the Common Agricultural Policy, Germany and the Netherlands' large contributions to the EU budget, reform of the European Regional Development Funds , and
5775-531: The Copenhagen criteria of being democratic, respecting human rights and having a free market economy . Members joined over time, starting with the original six in 1958 and more members joining in the near future. Some member states are outside certain areas of the EU, for example the eurozone is composed of only 20 of the 27 members and the Schengen Agreement currently includes only 23 of
5950-595: The Council , form the legislative arm of the EU. The council is composed of state governments, thus representing the intergovernmental nature of the EU. Laws are proposed by the European Commission which is appointed by and accountable to the Parliament and Council although it has very few executive powers. Although direct elections take place every five years, there are no cohesive political parties in
6125-609: The Danube river. However, by 1541, central and southern Hungary fell under Ottoman control . Suleiman won the contest for mastery of the Mediterranean, in spite of Christian victories such as the conquest of Tunis in 1535. The regular Ottoman fleet came to dominate the Eastern Mediterranean after its victories at Preveza in 1538 and Djerba in 1560 (shortly after Charles's death), which severely decimated
6300-664: The Diet of Worms in 1521. The same year, Francis I of France , surrounded by the Habsburg possessions, started a war in Italy that led to the Battle of Pavia (1525). In 1527, Rome was sacked by an army of Charles's mutinous soldiers. Charles then defended Vienna from the Turks and obtained coronations as King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from Pope Clement VII . In 1535, he took possession of Milan and captured Tunis . However,
6475-477: The EU's member states although a certain amount of structured co-operation and coordination takes place in these areas. For the EU to take substantial actions in these areas, all Member States must give their consent. Union laws that override State laws are more numerous than in historical confederations; however, the EU is legally restricted from making law outside its remit or where it is no more appropriate to do so at
6650-479: The European Communities and later the European Union . General relations between the two countries since 1871, according to Ulrich Krotz, have had three grand periods: "hereditary enmity" (down to 1945), "reconciliation" (1945–1963) and since 1963 the '"special relationship" embodied in a cooperation called Franco-German Friendship . In the context of the European Union , the cooperation between
6825-540: The European Council ) and approved by Parliament. The remaining twenty-seven Commissioners are nominated by member-states, in consultation with the President, and has their portfolios assigned by the President. The Council then adopts this list of nominee-Commissioners. The council's adoption of the commission is not an area which requires the decision to be unanimous, their acceptance is arrived at according to
7000-570: The European Union and the close cooperation between France and Germany that has been a driving force behind European integration. Today, France and Germany are considered to be the engine of European integration and have played a key role in the creation of the European Monetary Union, the Schengen Agreement , and the European Stability Mechanism . Earlier in 1948, there were significant key leaders in
7175-659: The Franco-Russian Alliance of 1894, the 1904 Entente Cordiale with Great Britain, and finally the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907 which became the Triple Entente . This formal alliance with Russia, and informal alignment with Britain, against Germany and Austria-Hungary eventually led Russia and Britain to enter World War I as France's Allies. The Allied victory saw France regain Alsace-Lorraine and briefly resume its old position as
France–Germany relations - Misplaced Pages Continue
7350-700: The Frankish Empire in the 843 Treaty of Verdun marked the end of a single state. While the population in both the Western and Eastern kingdoms had relative homogeneous language groups ( Gallo-Romanic in West Francia, and Low German and High German in East Francia), Middle Francia was a mere strip of a mostly blurring, yet culturally rich language-border-area, roughly between the rivers Meuse and Rhine – and soon partitioned again. After
7525-561: The Holy Roman Empire , extending from Germany to northern Italy with rule over the Austrian hereditary lands and Burgundian Low Countries , and Spain with its possessions of the southern Italian kingdoms of Naples , Sicily and Sardinia . In the Americas, he oversaw the continuation of Spanish colonization and a short-lived German colonization . The personal union of the European and American territories he ruled
7700-561: The Holy Roman Empire , fell into this period. Although the war was mostly a conflict between Protestants and Catholics, Catholic France sided with the Protestants against the Austrian-led Catholic Imperial forces. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 gave France part of Alsace . The 1679 Treaties of Nijmegen consolidated this result by bringing several towns under French control. In 1681, Louis XIV marched into
7875-571: The Kingdom of France during the Italian Wars . From the moment he became King of the Romans in 1486, Charles's paternal grandfather Maximilian had carried a very financially risky policy of maximum expansionism, relying mostly on the resources of the Austrian hereditary lands. Even though it is often implied (among others, by Erasmus of Rotterdam ) that Charles V and the Habsburgs gained their vast empire through peaceful policies (exemplified by
8050-453: The Kingdom of Sardinia . As Holy Roman Emperor, Charles was sovereign in several states of northern Italy as King of Italy . The Duchy of Milan , however, was under French control. France took Milan from the House of Sforza after victory against Switzerland at the Battle of Marignano in 1515. Imperial- Papal troops succeeded in re-installing Francesco II Sforza in Milan in 1521, in
8225-652: The Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura and died there a year later. Charles of Austria was born on 24 February 1500 in the Prinsenhof of Ghent , a Flemish city of the Habsburg Netherlands , to Philip of Austria and Joanna of Trastámara . His father Philip, nicknamed Philip the Handsome , was the firstborn son of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor , Archduke of Austria , and Mary of Burgundy , heiress to
8400-415: The Ottomans or accompanied him in his travels, and the bulk of his army was generally composed of German troops, especially the Imperial Landsknechte . In 1506, Charles inherited his father's Burgundian territories that included Franche-Comté and, most notably, the Low Countries . The latter territories mostly lay within the Holy Roman Empire and its borders, but were formally divided between fiefs of
8575-421: The Red Army from the Nazis and ensured the political success of Communist parties controlled by the Kremlin. The French, under De Gaulle, hoped to be a balancing act in 1945–46. French fears of a resurgent Germany made it reluctant to support the plan to merge the British and American zones of occupation. However, growing anger at the Soviets behaviour in Poland, and the need for American economic assistance, led
8750-437: The Revolt of the Comuneros , which Charles suppressed. Comuneros released Joanna and wanted to depose Charles and support Joanna to be the sole monarch instead. While Joanna refused to depose her son, her confinement would continue after the revolt to prevent possible events alike. Immediately after crushing the Castilian revolt, Charles was confronted again with the hot issue of Navarre when King Henry II attempted to reconquer
8925-485: The Revolutionary Wars and the beginning formation of nation states in Europe made war increasingly a conflict between peoples rather than a conflict between authorities carried out on the backs of their subjects. Napoleon put an end to the millennium-old Holy Roman Empire in 1806, forming his own Confederation of the Rhine , and reshaped the political map of the German states, which were still divided. The wars, often fought in Germany and with Germans on both sides, as in
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#17327648091529100-405: The Rhine river and the old focus of French ambition, to be detached from Germany as an independent country. In the end they settled for heavy German reparation payments , the military occupation of the Rhineland (1918–1930) and the demilitarization of it and an area stretching 50 kilometers east of the Rhine. On the remote Eastern end of the German Empire, the Memel territory was separated from
9275-408: The Safavid Empire to open a second front against the Ottomans, in an attempt at creating a Habsburg–Persian alliance . Contacts were positive, but rendered difficult by enormous distances. In effect, however, the Safavids did enter in conflict with the Ottoman Empire in the Ottoman–Safavid War , forcing it to split its military resources. During the 1541 expedition of Algiers , the losses amongst
9450-571: The Seven Years' War against Prussia and Great Britain. Although a German national state was on the horizon, the loyalties of the German population were primarily with smaller states. The French war against Prussia was justified through its role as guarantor of the Peace of Westphalia , and it was in fact fighting on the side of the majority of German states. Frederick the Great led the defense of Prussia for 7 years, and though heavily outnumbered, defeated his French and Austrian invaders. Prussia and France clashed multiple times, and many more times than
9625-441: The Spanish Navy . At the same time, the Muslim Barbary corsairs , acting under the general authority and supervision of the sultan, regularly devastated the Spanish and Italian coasts and crippled Spanish trade. The advance of the Ottomans in the Mediterranean and central Europe chipped at the foundations of Habsburg power and diminished Imperial prestige. In 1536, Francis I allied France with Suleiman against Charles. While Francis
9800-400: The Spanish Netherlands in September 1683, a few days before the Battle of Vienna . While Austria was occupied with the Great Turkish War (1683–1699), France initiated the War of the Grand Alliance (1688–1697). The attempt to conquer large parts of southern Germany ultimately failed when German-Roman troops were withdrawn from the Ottoman border and moved to the region. However, following
9975-403: The United Kingdom and the United States . Opposition from the United Kingdom and the United States was answered by an added preamble which postulated a close cooperation with those (including NATO ) and a targeted German reunification. The treaty achieved a lot in initiating European integration and a stronger Franco-West German co-position in transatlantic relations. The initial concept for
10150-564: The conquest of Nice by a Franco-Ottoman fleet , the French could not advance toward Milan, while a joint Anglo-Imperial invasion of northern France, led by Charles himself, won some successes but was ultimately abandoned, leading to another peace and restoration of the status quo ante bellum in 1544. A final war erupted with Francis' son and successor, Henry II , in 1551. Henry won early success in Lorraine , where he captured Metz , but French offensives in Italy failed. Charles abdicated midway through this conflict, leaving further conduct of
10325-554: The election as Holy Roman Emperor against the candidacy of the French king. Since the Imperial election, he was known as Emperor Charles V even outside of Germany. The dynastic motto of the House of Habsburg used by Charles was A.E.I.O.U. ("Austria Est Imperare Orbi Universo" — "it is Austria's destiny to rule the world"; although its exact meaning remains disputed). Charles staunchly defended Catholicism as Lutheranism spread. Various German princes broke with him on religious grounds, fighting against him. Charles's presence in Germany
10500-444: The loss of Buda during the struggle for Hungary and the Algiers expedition in the early 1540s frustrated his anti-Ottoman policies. After years of negotiations, Charles came to an agreement with Pope Paul III for the organization of the Council of Trent (1545). The refusal of the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League to recognize the council's validity led to a war , won by Charles. However, Henry II of France offered new support to
10675-402: The "twin engine" or "core countries" pushing for moves. A tram straddling the Franco-German border, across the river Rhine from Strasbourg to Kehl , was inaugurated on 28 April 2017 symbolizing the strength of relations between the two countries. Both France and Germany track their early history from the territories of Gaul to the time of Charlemagne , whose vast empire included most of
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#173276480915210850-430: The 1880s, Franco-German relations were relatively good." After 1880, the rapid growth in the population and economy of Germany left France increasingly far behind. In the 1890s, relationships remained good, as Germany supported France during its difficulties with Great Britain over African colonies. Any lingering harmony collapsed in 1905, when Germany took an aggressively hostile position to French claims to Morocco. There
11025-488: The 880 Treaty of Ribemont , the border between the western and eastern kingdoms remained almost unchanged for some 600 years. Germany went on with a centuries-long attachment with Italy, while France grew into deeper relations with England. Despite a gradual cultural alienation during the High and Late Middle Ages, social and cultural interrelations remained present through the preeminence of Latin language and Frankish clergy and nobility. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ,
11200-417: The Army and to intense public demand in Germany for acquisition of the border provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, thereby turning France into a permanent, deeply committed enemy. Theodore Zeldin says: "Revenge and the recovery of Alsace-Lorraine became a principal object of French policy for the next forty years. That Germany was France's enemy became the basic fact of international relations." Bismarck's solution
11375-486: The Castilian possessions in the Americas (the Spanish West Indies and the Province of Tierra Firme ) and the Aragonese kingdoms of Naples , Sicily , and Sardinia . Joanna inherited these territories in 1516 while confined, allegedly because she was mentally ill. Charles, therefore, claimed the crowns for himself jure matris , thus becoming co-monarch with Joanna with the title of Charles I of Castile and Aragon or Charles I of Spain . Castile and Aragon together formed
11550-418: The Commissioners can take office. The current president is Ursula von der Leyen ( EPP ); she was elected in 2019. Direct elections take place to the European Parliament every five years. The Council and European Council is composed of nationally elected or appointed officials and thus are accountable according to national procedures. The commission also is not directly elected although future appointments of
11725-467: The Council meets in various forms depending upon the topic. For example, if agriculture is being discussed, the council will be composed of each national minister for agriculture. They represent their governments and are accountable to their national political systems. Votes are taken either by majority or unanimity with votes allocated according to population. The European Commission is composed of one appointee from each state, currently twenty-seven, but
11900-487: The EU members. However, the majority of these are in the process of joining these blocs. A number of countries outside the EU are involved in certain EU activities such as the euro, Schengen, single market or defence. The primary institutions of the European Union are the European Commission , the European Council , the Council of the European Union (Council) and the European Parliament . The ordinary legislative procedure , applies to nearly all EU policy areas. Under
12075-408: The EU's legislative process, in contrast to the council, which represents the Member States. Despite forming one of the two legislative chambers of the Union, it has weaker powers than the Council in some limited areas, and does not have legislative initiative . It does, however, have powers over the Commission which the Council does not. The powers of the Parliament have increased substantially over
12250-422: The Emperor. In 1508 Charles had been nominated by Henry VII to the Order of the Garter . His Garter stall plate survives in Saint George's Chapel . The first war with Charles's great nemesis Francis I of France began in 1521. Charles allied with England and Pope Leo X against the French and the Venetians , and was highly successful, driving the French out of Milan and defeating and capturing Francis at
12425-404: The European Parliament (EP) and the Council act in much the same way as a bicameral congress, such as the British Upper and Lower Houses or the American Congress. The co-decision rule in Maastricht, and the subsequent Lisbon Treaty , ultimately gave the EP and the Council equal weight and formalised OLP as the main legislative procedure. It also gives the EP veto power. The two legislative powers of
12600-569: The European Parliament and the council, which are equally weighted. Regulations are binding on all member states effective immediately. Directives are binding on all member states, but the implementation is left up to the national courts in a process called transposition. However, since member states set their own timelines for transposition, there is a democratic deficit between states. Decisions are binding on non-state litigants to whom they are addressed. Recommendations are intended to guide legal judgments and are non-binding, similar to opinions. In
12775-490: The European Union in 2024 according to Eurobarometer : Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy from 1506 to 1555. He was heir to and then head of the rising House of Habsburg . His dominions in Europe included
12950-552: The European Union is characterised as being: The Financial Perspective for 2007–2013 was defined in 2005 when EU members agreed to fix the common budget to 1.045% of the European GDP. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed to review the British rebate , negotiated by Margaret Thatcher in 1984. Former French president Jacques Chirac declared this increase in the budget will permit Europe to "finance common policies" such as
13125-554: The Franco-German cooperation however dates back a lot further than the Élysée Treaty and is based on the overcoming the centuries of Franco-German hostilities within Europe. It was compared to a re-establishment of Charlemagne 's European empire as it existed before division by the Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD . Politics of the European Union The political structure of the European Union (EU)
13300-516: The French alliance in favour of an Austrian one through the Treaty of Ried . During the first half of the 19th century, many Germans looked forward to a unification of the German states; one issue was whether Catholic Austria would be a part. German nationalists believed that a united Germany would replace France as the world's dominant land power. This argument was aided by demographic changes: since
13475-425: The French armies at the Battle of Sedan . Finally, in the Treaty of Frankfurt , reached after a lengthy siege of Paris , France was forced to cede the mostly Germanic-speaking Alsace-Lorraine territory (consisting of most of Alsace and a quarter of Lorraine ), and pay an indemnity of five billion francs. Thereafter, Germany was the leading land power. Although initially against it, Bismarck eventually gave into
13650-498: The French civil service who favoured an agreement with the Germans as well as an integrated Europe that would include Germany. The French European Department was working on a coal and steel agreement for the Ruhr-Lorraine-Luxembourg area, with equal rights for all. One French civil servant recommended 'laying down the bases of a Franco-German economic and political association that would slowly become integrated into
13825-652: The French to merge their zone into what became West Germany. In 1947, the American Secretary of State, George Marshall , announced the Marshall Plan to help economic recovery, economic integration, and business-oriented modernization in Europe. Large sums went to France and Germany, which helped restore trade and financial relations. The Marshall Plan recipients set up the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) in 1948. The idea of
14000-681: The German government, propagating French-German reconciliation, French renewal and European solidarity. The war left Europe in a weak position and divided between capitalism in the West, and communism in the East. For the first time in the history of Europe, both Americans and Soviets had a strategic foothold on the continent. Defeated Germany was under the control of the U.S., USSR, United Kingdom and France, until 1949. Soviet troops remained in those countries in Eastern Europe that had been liberated by
14175-523: The German minister of economics Ludwig Erhard created a significant evolution in the German economy and a durable, well established trading relationship between the Federal Republic and its European neighbours as well. Later on when the Treaty of Rome came into action in 1958, it took the responsibility to strengthen and sustain the new political and economic relationships that had developed between
14350-554: The German nation and its former victims in Western Europe. The treaty beside it included side deals; it created a customs union and established the rules needed to make the competition mechanism work properly. As a sequence of this, booming European economies, fired by West Germany , led to the formation of the new customs union known as the European Economic Community (EEC). But it did not go well as
14525-817: The Germani. He also writes that Germani had once crossed the Rhine into northeast Gaul and driven away its Gallic inhabitants, and that the Belgae claimed to be largely descended from these Germanic invaders. Years later, Both Gaul and Germaina were both invaded by the Roman Empire . Years after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire , The death of Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious and the following partition of
14700-574: The Holy Roman Empire and French fiefs such as Charles's birthplace of Flanders , the last remnant of the Burgundian State , a powerful player in the Hundred Years' War . Since he was a minor, his aunt Margaret of Austria acted as regent, as appointed by Emperor Maximilian until 1515. She soon found herself at war with France over Charles's requirement to pay homage to the French king for Flanders, as his father had done. The outcome
14875-522: The Imperial Diet did not accept the abdication (and thus make it legally valid) until 24 February 1558. Up to that date, Charles continued to use the title of emperor. Much of Charles's reign was taken up by conflicts with France , which found itself encircled by Charles's empire while it still maintained ambitions in Italy. In 1520, Charles visited England , where his aunt, Catherine of Aragon , urged her husband, Henry VIII , to ally himself with
15050-813: The Low Countries to be a unified entity of which his family would be the heirs. The Low Countries held an essential place in the Empire. For Charles V, they were his home, the region where he was born and spent his childhood. Because of trade and industry and the wealth of the region's cities, the Low Countries also represented a significant income for the Imperial treasury. The Burgundian territories were generally loyal to Charles throughout his reign. The important city of Ghent rebelled in 1539 due to heavy tax payments demanded by Charles. The rebellion did not last long, however, as Charles's military response, with reinforcement from Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba ,
15225-728: The Lutheran cause and strengthened the Franco-Ottoman alliance with Suleiman the Magnificent . Ultimately, Charles conceded the Peace of Augsburg and abandoned his multi-national project with abdications in 1556 that divided his hereditary and imperial domains between the Spanish Habsburgs, headed by his son Philip II of Spain , and Austrian Habsburgs, headed by his brother Ferdinand . In 1557, Charles retired to
15400-635: The Mediterranean was consistently disrupted by the Ottoman Empire and its vassal Barbary pirates . In 1538 a Holy League consisting of all the Italian states and the Spanish kingdoms was formed to drive the Ottomans back, but it was defeated at the Battle of Preveza . Decisive naval victory eluded Charles; it would not be achieved until after his death, at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. After
15575-543: The Middle Ages, France had the largest population in Western Europe, but in the 19th century its population stagnated (a trend which continued until the second half of the 20th century), and the population of the German states overtook it and continued to rapidly increase. The eventual unification of Germany was triggered by the Franco-German War in 1870 and subsequent French defeat. German forces defeated
15750-484: The Netherlands, which proved to be lost causes. Each hastened the economic decline of the Spanish Empire in the next generation. The enormous budget deficit accumulated during Charles's reign, along with the inflation that affected the kingdom , resulted in declaring bankruptcy during the reign of Philip II. The Crown of Aragon inherited by Charles included the Kingdom of Naples , the Kingdom of Sicily and
15925-525: The New European Order and to keep the unity of France. Therefore, much of WW2 French propaganda was pro-European, exactly as German propaganda was. Therefore, a group called "Group Collaboration" had been established during the war in France, and led a myriad of conferences promoting Pro-Europeanism. The very first time the expression "European Community" was used was at its first sessions, as well as many conferences and guests lectures sponsored by
16100-541: The OLP are directives and regulations. A directive requires the member states to pass the new law individually, a process called "transposition." The difference in the timing of completing transposition is the "democratic deficit." A regulation acts on all the member states at once and is effective immediately. The other legislation option is the Special Legislative Procedure (SLP). The SLP consists of
16275-416: The Parliament of Navarre ( Cortes ) required him to attend the coronation ceremony (to become Charles IV of Navarre). Still, this demand fell on deaf ears, and the parliament kept piling up grievances. Charles was accepted as sovereign, even though the Spanish felt uneasy with the Imperial style. Spanish kingdoms varied in their traditions. Castile had become an authoritarian, highly centralized kingdom, where
16450-459: The President must take into account of results of Parliament's elections. Parliament's elections are held by universal suffrage of EU citizens according to national restrictions (such as age and criminal convictions). Proportional representation is used in all parliamentary constituencies . Members of the European Parliament cannot also be elected nationally and are elected in national or sub-national constituencies . The first such election
16625-428: The Romans , who thus became his designated successor as emperor, a move that "had profound implications for state formation in south-eastern Europe". Afterwards, Ferdinand managed to gain control of Bohemia , Croatia , and Hungary , with support from local nobles and his German vassals. Charles abdicated as emperor in 1556 in favour of his brother Ferdinand; however, due to lengthy debate and bureaucratic procedure,
16800-639: The SLP, the council is the sole ruling body. The European Parliament is involved strictly in a consultative role and can be ignored. There are twenty-seven member states who have conferred powers upon the EU institutions (other countries are tied to the EU in other ways). In exchange for conferring competences, EU states are assigned votes in the Council , seats in Parliament and a European Commissioner among other things. The internal government of member states vary between presidential systems, monarchies, federations, and microstates however all members must respect
16975-591: The Spanish coat of arms since the 18th century. However, at his accession to the Iberian thrones, Charles was viewed as a foreign prince. Two rebellions, the Revolt of the Germanies and the Revolt of the Comuneros , contested Charles's rule in the 1520s. Following these revolts, Charles placed Spanish counselors in a position of power and spent a significant part of his life in Castile, including his final years in
17150-675: The Treaty System. The move toward unification first arose in the Kellogg-Briand Pact in 1928, which gained adherent countries during negotiations and took on a theme of integration for the achievement of peace between the Great Powers. After the Second World War, European society sought to end conflict permanently between states, seeing the rivalry between France and Germany as the most worrying example. In
17325-703: The Venetians, the Florentines , and the Milanese to resist imperial domination of Italy. In the ensuing war, Charles's sack of Rome (1527) and virtual imprisonment of Pope Clement VII in 1527 prevented the Pope from annulling the marriage of Henry VIII of England and Charles's aunt Catherine of Aragon, so Henry eventually broke with Rome, thus leading to the English Reformation . In other respects,
17500-524: The annexation of Tournai , Artois , Utrecht , Groningen , and Guelders . The Seventeen Provinces had been unified by Charles's Burgundian ancestors, but nominally were fiefs of either France or the Holy Roman Empire. Charles eventually won the Guelders Wars and united all provinces under his rule, the last one being the Duchy of Guelders. In 1549, Charles issued a Pragmatic Sanction , declaring
17675-697: The area of both modern-day France and Germany, as well as the Netherlands , Belgium , Luxembourg , Switzerland , Austria , Slovenia , and northern Italy . Both nations fought together in the Gallic War against Julius Caesar and the Roman Republic between 58 and 50 BC. According to Caesar, the Gallic Volcae Tectosages had once crossed the Rhine and colonized parts of Germania, but had since become militarily inferior to
17850-579: The bulk of the empire's financial resources. However, the two conflicting strategies of Charles V, enhancing the possessions of his family and protecting Catholicism against Protestant heretics, diverted resources away from building up the Spanish economy. Elite elements in Spain called for more protection for the commercial networks, which were threatened by the Ottoman Empire and Barbary pirates . Charles instead focused on defeating Protestantism in Germany and
18025-553: The children to stay with the parents. Philip was recognized King of Castile in 1506. He died shortly after, an event that was said to drive the mentally unstable Joanna into complete insanity. She was retired in isolation to the Royal Palace of Tordesillas . Charles's grandfather Ferdinand took control of all the Spanish kingdoms, under the pretext of protecting Charles's rights, which in reality he wanted to elude. Ferdinand's new marriage with Germaine de Foix failed to produce
18200-432: The city of Strasbourg on 30 September, and proclaimed its annexation. Meanwhile, the expanding Muslim Ottoman Empire became a serious threat to Austria. The Papal States initiated a so-called Holy League against the "hereditary enemy" of Christian Europe ("Erbfeind christlichen Namens"). Far from joining or supporting the common effort of the Holy Roman Empire and Poland-Lithuania , France, under Louis XIV , invaded
18375-464: The context of an alliance between Charles V and Pope Leo X. A Franco-Swiss army was expelled from Lombardy at the Battle of Bicocca 1522. In 1524, Francis I of France retook the initiative, crossing into Lombardy where Milan, along with several other cities, once again fell to his attack. Pavia alone held out, and on 24 February 1525 (Charles's twenty-fifth birthday), Charles's forces led by Charles de Lannoy captured Francis and crushed his army in
18550-466: The continually changing nature of the EU which adopts successive reforming treaties. The latter was a significant political force in the United Kingdom in the decades and years before leaving the Union , and some member states are less integrated than others due to legal opt-outs . - Article 10 of the Treaty on European Union The democratic legitimation of the European Union rests on
18725-525: The country to Normandy, suspected the village of Oradour-sur-Glane of harboring resistance members, arms and explosives. In retaliation, they destroyed the town in the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre , killing 642 of its inhabitants. There was also a free French army fighting with the Allies, numbering almost five hundred thousand men by June 1944, one million by December and 1.3 million by the end of
18900-702: The country. A minority of the French forces escaped abroad and continued the fight under General Charles de Gaulle and Free France . On the other hand, the French Resistance conducted sabotage operations inside German-occupied France. To support the invasion of Normandy of 1944, various groups increased their sabotage and guerrilla attacks; organizations such as the Maquis derailed trains, blew up ammunition depots, and ambushed Germans, for instance at Tulle . The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich , which came under constant attack and sabotage on their way across
19075-544: The court of his aunt Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy . William de Croÿ (later prime minister) and Adrian of Utrecht (later Pope Adrian VI ) served as his tutors. The culture and courtly life of the Low Countries played an important part in the development of Charles's beliefs. As a member of the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece in his infancy, and later its grandmaster, Charles was educated to
19250-472: The crowns of Castile and Aragon to Maximilian's male line, however, was unexpected. The marriage contract between Philip and Joanna was signed in 1495, and celebrations were held in 1496. Philip was already Duke of Burgundy (although the Duchy of Burgundy itself had been lost to the French crown), given Mary's death in 1482, and also heir apparent of Austria as honorific archduke . Joanna, in contrast,
19425-454: The death of his paternal grandfather, Maximilian , in 1519, Charles inherited the Habsburg monarchy . He was also the natural candidate of the electors to succeed his grandfather as Holy Roman Emperor . He defeated the candidacies of Frederick III of Saxony , Francis I of France , and Henry VIII of England in the 1519 Imperial election . According to some, Charles became emperor due to
19600-595: The decentralized structure of the Empire proved resilient, not least because of the Reformation . It was exactly during this crucial period, Charles V and Ferdinand were too busy with non-German affairs to prevent Imperial Cities in Upper Germany from becoming estranged from Imperial power. Due to Charles V's difficulties in coordinating between the Austrian, Hungarian fronts and his Mediterranean fronts in
19775-587: The end Charles was accepted under the following conditions: he would learn to speak Castilian ; he would not appoint foreigners; he was prohibited from taking precious metals from Castile beyond the Quinto Real ; and he would respect the rights of his mother, Queen Joanna. The Cortes paid homage to him in Valladolid in February 1518. After this, Charles departed to the Crown of Aragon. He managed to overcome
19950-457: The equal weight given to both the EP and the council. While provided for in the treaties, the SLP is not as formal as the OLP, relying less on the hierarchical structure. This lends more credence to Kleine's argument of the contrariness of the EU's agenda-setting procedure. In the OLP, there are four types of rulings: Regulations, Directives, Decisions, and Recommendations. Decision-making is shared by
20125-470: The face of the Ottoman threat, as well as in his German, Burgundian and Italian theatres of war against German Protestant Princes and France, the defense of central Europe, as well as many responsibilities involving the management of the Empire, was subcontracted to Ferdinand. Charles V abdicated as Archduke of Austria in 1522, and nine years after that he had the German princes elect Ferdinand as King of
20300-467: The fact that by paying huge bribes to the electors, he was the highest bidder. He won the crown on 28 June 1519. On 23 October 1520, he was crowned in Germany and some ten years later, on 24 February 1530 , he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII in Bologna , the last emperor to receive a papal coronation . Others point out that while the electors were paid, this was not the reason for
20475-466: The framework of the evolving Western organization'. Deighton strongly illustrated that the French leaders sought the cooperation with the Germans as key factor on the path of integrated Europe. On a more practical level the increased level of cooperation between West Germany and France were driven by de Gaulle’s desire to build a power-bloc independently of the US, while Adenauer sought a fast integration into
20650-402: The frontiers of Belgium, France, and Germany, which was guaranteed by Britain and Italy. The second and third treaties called for arbitration between Germany and Belgium, and Germany and France regarding future disputes. The fourth and fifth were similar arbitration treaties between Germany and Poland, and Germany and Czechoslovakia. Poland especially, and Czechoslovakia as well, felt threatened by
20825-462: The government became more absolute, even though until his mother died in 1555, Charles did not hold absolute power in the country. Soon resistance to the Emperor arose because of heavy taxation to support foreign wars in which Castilians had little interest and because Charles tended to select Flemings for high offices in Castile and America, ignoring Castilian candidates. The resistance culminated in
21000-505: The heiress of Navarre, Jeanne d'Albret . Jeanne was instead forced to marry William, Duke of Julich-Cleves-Berg , but that childless marriage was annulled after four years. She next married Antoine de Bourbon , and both she and their son Henry of Navarre would oppose Philip II in the French Wars of Religion . After its integration into Charles's empire, Castile guaranteed effective military units and its American possessions provided
21175-426: The highest political body of the European Union. The Council of the European Union (informally known as the Council of Ministers or just the council) is a body holding legislative and some limited executive powers and is thus the main decision-making body of the Union. Its Presidency rotates between the states every six months. The council is composed of twenty-eight national ministers (one per state). However,
21350-483: The ideals of the medieval knights and the desire for Christian unity to fight the infidel. The Low Countries were very rich during his reign, both economically and culturally . Charles was very attached to his homeland and spent a large part of his life in Brussels and various Flemish cities. The Spanish inheritance, resulting from a dynastic union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon , included Spain as well as
21525-750: The integrity of the Holy Roman Empire from the Reformation , the expansion of the Ottoman Empire , and in wars with France . Charles borrowed money from German and Italian bankers and, to repay them, relied on the wealth of the Low Countries and on flow of silver from New Spain and Peru , brought under his rule following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires, which caused widespread inflation . Crowned King of Germany in Aachen , Charles sided with Pope Leo X and declared Martin Luther an outlaw at
21700-539: The kingdom . Main military operations lasted until 1524, when Hondarribia surrendered to Charles's forces, but frequent cross-border clashes in the western Pyrenees only stopped in 1528 (Treaties of Madrid and Cambrai ). After these events, Navarre remained a matter of domestic and international litigation still for a century (a French dynastic claim to the throne did not end until the July Revolution in 1830). Charles wanted his son and heir Philip II to marry
21875-535: The kingdom. Charles arrived in his new kingdoms in autumn of 1517. Jiménez de Cisneros came to meet him but fell ill along the way, not without a suspicion of poison, and he died before reaching the King. Due to the irregularity of Charles assuming the royal title while his mother, the legitimate queen, was alive, the negotiations with the Castilian Cortes in Valladolid (1518) proved difficult. In
22050-485: The largest of Charles's personal possessions, and they also provided a great number of generals and tercios (the formidable Spanish infantry of the time), while Joanna remained confined in Tordesillas until her death. Plus Ultra , the rendition from French into Latin of Charles's personal motto "Plus Oultre" ( Further Beyond ), later became the national motto of Spain and features on the country's flag as part of
22225-549: The leading land power on the European continent. France was the leading proponent of harsh peace terms against Germany at the Paris Peace Conference . Since the war had been fought on French soil, it had destroyed much of French infrastructure and industry, and France had suffered the highest number of casualties proportionate to population. Much French opinion wanted the Rhineland, the section of Germany west of
22400-524: The local population. The personal contacts and mutual respect between French and Prussian officers did not stop entirely while they were fighting each other, and the war resulted in a great deal of cultural exchange between the French occupiers and German population. German nationalism emerged as a strong force after 1807, as Napoleon conquered much of Germany and brought in the new ideals of the French Revolution. The French mass conscription for
22575-459: The lordships that formed the Low Countries and covered modern-day Belgium , Netherlands and Luxembourg . It excluded Burgundy proper, annexed by France in 1477, with the exception of Franche-Comté . At the death of Philip in 1506, Charles was recognized Lord of the Netherlands with the title of Charles II of Burgundy . During his childhood and teen years, Charles lived in Mechelen together with his sisters Mary , Eleanor , and Isabella at
22750-441: The loss of Alsace and Lorraine. Paintings that emphasized the humiliation of the defeat came in high demand, such as those by Alphonse de Neuville . The Alsace-Lorraine issue remained a minor theme after 1880, and Republicans and Socialists systematically downplayed the issue and the monarchists (who emphasized the issue) faded away. Revanchism was not a major cause of war in 1914 because it faded after 1880. J.F.V. Keiger says: "By
22925-443: The main Locarno agreement, and the treaties were attempts to reassure them. The success of the Locarno agreements led to the admission of Germany to the League of Nations in September 1926, with a seat on its council as a permanent member. The result was the euphoric "Spirit of Locarno" across Europe—a sense that it was possible to achieve peace and a permanent system guaranteeing that peace. The Great Depression on 1929-33 soured
23100-399: The monarch's own will easily overrode legislative and justice institutions. By contrast, in the Crown of Aragon, and especially in the Pyrenean Kingdom of Navarre, law prevailed, and the monarchy was seen as a contract with the people . This became an inconvenience and a matter of dispute for Charles V and later kings since realm-specific traditions limited their absolute power. With Charles,
23275-486: The mood in France, and plunged Germany into economic hardship and violent internal unrest. From 1933 under Adolf Hitler , Germany began to pursue an aggressive policy in Europe. Meanwhile, France in the 1930s was politically divided, and above all dreaded another war, which the French feared would again be fought on their soil for the third time, and again destroy a large percentage of their young men. France's stagnant population meant that it would find it difficult to withhold
23450-579: The national sense. Instead, there are alliances of ideologically associated parties who sit and vote together in Parliament. The two largest parties are the European People's Party (centre-right, mostly Christian Democrat ) and the Party of European Socialists (centre-left, mostly Social Democrat ) with the former forming the largest group in Parliament since 1999. As well as there being left and right dividing lines in European politics, there are also divides between those for and against European integration ( Pro-Europeanism and Euroscepticism ) which shapes
23625-526: The newborn was originally heir apparent only of the Burgundian Low Countries as the honorific Duke of Luxembourg and second in line to the Austrian duchies, becoming known in his early years simply as "Charles of Ghent". He was baptised at the Church of Saint John by the Bishop of Tournai . The Burgundian nobles Charles I de Croÿ and John III of Glymes were his godfathers, and Margaret of York and Margaret of Austria , respectively his step-grandmother and aunt, his godmothers. Charles's baptism gifts were
23800-439: The organization of Europe, because only the members of the coal and steel community 'ECSC' ("the six": Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany) joined the EEC. Seven of the remaining nations belonging to the Organization of European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) which administered the Marshall Plan, did not join the EEC, but instead formed an alternative body, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). It
23975-407: The other countries. This started years of hatred between the two countries. Frederick the Great was soon respected by all of his enemies, and Napoleon himself used him as a model for battle. The civil population still regarded war as a conflict between their authorities, and did not so much distinguish between troops according to the side on which they fought but rather according to how they treated
24150-434: The outcome, or at most played only a small part. The important factor that swayed the final decision was that Frederick refused the offer, and made a speech in support of Charles on the ground that they needed a strong leader against the Ottomans, Charles had the resources and was a prince of German extraction. Although even at the beginning of his reign, his position was more powerful than that of any of his predecessors,
24325-400: The passing of laws proposed by member states, the Central Bank or Investment Bank, or the Court of Justice. Judicial activism—the interpretation of the spirit of law rather than the letter of law—is handled by the SLP. The procedure is discussed either in the EP with consultation with the council, or in the council with participation of the EP. In other words, the consultative role stops short of
24500-399: The procedure, the Commission presents a proposal to Parliament and the council. They then send amendments to the Council which can either adopt the text with those amendments or send back a "common position". That proposal may either be approved or further amendments may be tabled by the Parliament. If the Council does not approve those, then a " Conciliation Committee " is formed. The committee
24675-490: The question of whether the European Parliament should continue to meet both in Brussels and Strasbourg . The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE), commonly referred to as the European Constitution, is an international treaty intended to create a constitution for the European Union. The constitution was rejected by France and the Netherlands, where referendums were held causing other countries to postpone or halt their ratification procedures. Late in 2009,
24850-464: The recasting of the map of Europe after Napoleon's defeat, the German-speaking territories in the Rhineland adjoining France were put under the rule of Prussia . Bavaria as the third-largest state in Germany after 1815 enjoyed much warmer relations with France than the larger Prussia or Austria . From 1670 onwards, the two countries were allies for almost a century, primarily to counter Habsburg ambitions to incorporate Bavaria into Austria. This alliance
25025-415: The reconciliation of France and Germany, the axis of political European integration, furthermore, the plan announced the proposal of a European army. This led to the signing of the treaty of the European Defence Community (EDC) in 1952. The main purpose of establishing such army was to create a "European security identity", through closer Franco-West German military and security cooperation. In like manner,
25200-414: The resistance of the Aragonese Cortes and Catalan Corts , and he was recognized as King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona jointly with his mother, while his mother was kept confined and could only rule in name. The Kingdom of Navarre had been invaded by Ferdinand of Aragon jointly with Castile in 1512, but he pledged a formal oath to respect the kingdom. On Charles's accession to the Spanish thrones,
25375-556: The rest of East Prussia and occupied by France, before being annexed by Lithuania . In response to German failure in 1923 to pay reparations as required under the Treaty of Versailles , France occupied the industrial Ruhr area of Germany, the center of German coal and steel production, until 1925. Also, the French-dominated International Olympic Committee banned Germany from the Olympic Games of 1920 and 1924, illustrating French desire to isolate Germany. In late 1924 German foreign minister Gustav Stresemann made his highest priority
25550-475: The restoration of German prestige and privileges as a leading European nation. French withdrawal from the occupied Ruhr was scheduled for January 1925, but Stresemann sensed that France was very nervous about its security and might cancel the withdrawal. He realized that France deeply desired a British guarantee of its postwar borders, but that London was reluctant. Stresemann came up with a plan whereby all sides would get what they wanted through guarantees set out in
25725-438: The royal title, and this was supported by Emperor Maximilian I and Pope Leo X . Thus, after the commemoration of Ferdinand II's obsequies on 14 March 1516, Charles was proclaimed king of the crowns of Castile and Aragon jointly with his mother. Finally, when the Castilian regent Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros accepted the fait accompli , he acceded to Charles's desire to be proclaimed king and imposed his instatement throughout
25900-403: The rules for qualified majority voting . The European Parliament then interviews and casts its vote upon the Commissioners. The interviews of individual nominees are conducted separately, in contrast to Parliament's vote of approval which must be cast on the commission as a whole without the ability to accept or reject individual Commissioners. Once approval has been obtained from the Parliament
26075-416: The saying Bella gerant aliī, tū fēlix Austria nūbe / Nam quae Mars aliīs, dat tibi regna Venus or "Let others wage war, but thou, O happy Austria, marry; for those kingdoms which Mars gives to others, Venus gives to thee.", reportedly spoken by Mathias Corvinus ), Maximilian and his descendants fought wars aplenty (Maximilian alone fought 27 wars during his four decades of ruling). His general strategy
26250-446: The scope of competences integrated more and more functions. While member states hold their sovereignty inviolate, they remain within a system to which they have delegated the tasks of managing the marketplace. These tasks have expanded to include the competences of free movement of persons, employment, transportation, and environmental regulation. The Ordinary Legislative Procedure (OLP) is the formal, main legislative procedure. In OLP,
26425-583: The sheer force of numbers of a German invasion; it was estimated Germany could put two men of fighting age in the field for every French soldier. Thus in the 1930s the French, with their British allies, pursued a policy of appeasement of Germany, failing to respond to the remilitarization of the Rhineland , although this put the German army on a larger stretch of the French border. Finally, however, Hitler pushed France and Great Britain too far, and they jointly declared war when Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. But, France remained exhausted and in no mood for
26600-477: The spirit of the Marshall Plan , those two states signed the Treaty of Paris in 1951, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. Since then, the Treaty of Paris, which focused on price setting and competition for purposes of a common market, has been superseded. The legal basis for the European Community now rests on two treaties: the Treaty of Rome of 1958; and the Treaty of Maastricht of 1992. The various additions and modifications of treaties has led to
26775-423: The two countries is immense and intimate. Even though France has, at times, been eurosceptical in outlook, especially under President Charles de Gaulle , Franco-German agreements and cooperations have always been key to furthering the ideals of European integration . In recent times, France and Germany are among the most enthusiastic proponents of the further integration of the EU. They are sometimes described as
26950-410: The war to his son, Philip II , and his brother, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor . Charles fought continually with the Ottoman Empire and its sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent . The defeat of Hungary at the Battle of Mohács in 1526 "sent a wave of terror over Europe." The Muslim advance in Central Europe was halted at the Siege of Vienna (1529) , followed by a counter-attack of Charles V across
27125-412: The war was inconclusive. In the Treaty of Cambrai (1529), called the "Ladies' Peace" because it was negotiated between Charles's aunt and Francis' mother, Francis renounced his claims in Italy but retained control of Burgundy. A third war erupted in 1536. Following the death of Francesco II Sforza , Charles installed his son Philip in the Duchy of Milan , despite Francis' claims on it. This war too
27300-421: The war. By the war's end, the French army occupied south-west Germany and a part of Austria. Marshal Petain, who ruled France under German supervision, 1940–44, adopted the ideology of National Revolution which was originally based on ideas which had been discussed for years. When the Franco-German reconciliation committee "Comité France-Allemagne" ("French-German Friendship Committee") founded in 1935 in Paris it
27475-474: The western structures to receive full rights for the still occupied West German state as well as protection against the Soviet threat. The issue of dependency on the USA remained a sore spot at least for as long as DeGaulle remained in office (e.g. the West German parliament included a pro-NATO preamble into the Élysée Treaty , which caused considerable consternation with the French government). However, their shared interest in increased cooperation still existed and
27650-426: The years, and in nearly all areas it now has equal power to the council. The European Council is the group of heads of state or government of the EU member states . It meets four times a year to define the Union's policy agenda and give impetus to integration. The President of the European Council is the person responsible for chairing and driving forward the work of the institution, which has been described as
27825-509: Was elected as Holy Roman Emperor. He adopted the Imperial name of Charles V as his main title, and styled himself as a new Charlemagne . Charles revitalized the medieval concept of universal monarchy . With no fixed capital, he made 40 journeys through the different entities he ruled and spent a quarter of his reign travelling within his realms. Although his empire came to him peacefully, he spent most of his life waging war, exhausting his revenues and leaving debts in his attempt to defend
28000-452: Was in 1979 , and the latest election was in 2024 . The turnout was steadily falling in every EU election since 1979, until 2019, where it increased 8 pp from 42.6% to 50.7%, and then again in 2024 by 0.39 pp to 51.05% Political parties across member states organise themselves with like-minded parties into European political parties . Most national parties are now members of a European political party. European parties behave and operate to
28175-420: Was a free trade area as opposed to a customs union with common external tariffs and a political agenda, competing with the EEC as it was remarkably successful. With the threat of the Soviet Union during the Cold War , West Germany sought its national security in the re-integration into Western Europe , while France sought after a reestablishment as a Grande Nation . The post-war Franco-West German cooperation
28350-433: Was also driven by strong support in the respective civil society, as it was seen as the best solution to prevent further bloodshed between the two nations. As a sequence, Jean Monnet , who has been described as the founder father and the chief architect of European Unity, announced the French Schuman plan of 9 May 1950, which led to the founding a year later of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The plan brought
28525-421: Was an important element for Germany to get closer to France. It adopted Pro-European, Pro-German, anti British, anti liberal political and economic views. Key members of the Committee became the key leaders of the French collaborators with Nazis after 1940. When Marshal Petain officially proclaimed the collaboration policy with Nazi Germany in June 1941, he justified it to the French people as an essential need for
28700-433: Was inconclusive. Francis failed to conquer Milan, but he succeeded in conquering most of the lands of Charles's ally, Charles III, Duke of Savoy , including his capital Turin . A truce at Nice in 1538 on the basis of uti possidetis ended the war but lasted only a short time. War resumed in 1542 , with Francis now allied with Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Charles once again allied with Henry VIII. Despite
28875-559: Was often marked by the organization of imperial diets to maintain religious and political unity. He was frequently in Northern Italy, often taking part in complicated negotiations with the Popes to address the rise of Protestantism. It is important to note, though, that the German Catholics supported the Emperor. Charles had a close relationship with important German families, like the House of Nassau , many of which were represented at his imperial court. Many German princes, noblemen and generals led his military campaigns against France and
29050-450: Was only third in the Spanish line of succession , preceded by her older brother John, Prince of Asturias and older sister Isabella of Aragon . Both heirs to the crowns of Castile and Aragon John and Isabella died in 1498, and the Catholic Monarchs desired to keep the Spanish kingdoms in Iberian hands, so they designated their Portuguese grandson Miguel da Paz as heir presumptive of Spain by naming him Prince of Asturias ; but he died as
29225-406: Was persuaded to sign a peace treaty in 1538, he again allied himself with the Ottomans in 1542 in a Franco-Ottoman alliance . In 1543, Charles allied himself with Henry VIII and forced Francis to sign the Truce of Crépy-en-Laonnois . Later, in 1547, Charles signed a humiliating treaty with the Ottomans to gain himself some respite from the huge expenses of their war. Charles V made overtures to
29400-463: Was renewed after the rise of Napoleon to power with a friendship treaty in 1801 and a formal alliance in August 1805, pushed for by the Bavarian Minister Maximilian von Montgelas . With French support, Bavaria was elevated to the status of a Kingdom in 1806 . Bavaria supplied 30,000 troops for the invasion of Russia in 1812 , of which very few returned. With the decline of the First French Empire, Bavaria opted to switch sides on 8 October 1813 and left
29575-505: Was swift and humiliating to the rebels of Ghent. In the Castilian Cortes of Valladolid in 1506 and of Madrid in 1510, Charles was sworn as the Prince of Asturias , heir-apparent to his mother Queen Joanna . On the other hand, in 1502, the Aragonese Corts gathered in Zaragoza and pledged an oath to Joanna as heiress-presumptive, but Alonso de Aragón , Archbishop of Zaragoza, (an illegitimate son of King Ferdinand) expressed firmly that this oath could not establish jurisprudence, that
29750-428: Was talk of war and France strengthened its ties with Great Britain and Russia. The French public had very little interest in foreign affairs and elite French opinion was strongly opposed to war with its more powerful neighbor. French foreign policy was based on a fear that Germany was larger and steadily growing more powerful. In 1914 the chief pressure group was the Parti colonial , a coalition of 50 organizations with
29925-417: Was that France relinquished its ancient claim on Flanders in 1528. From 1515 to 1523, Charles's government in the Netherlands also had to contend with the rebellion of Frisian peasants (led by Pier Gerlofs Donia and Wijard Jelckama ). The rebels were initially successful but after a series of defeats, the remaining leaders were captured and executed in 1523. Charles extended the Burgundian territory with
30100-429: Was the first collection of realms labelled " the empire on which the sun never sets ". Charles was born in Flanders to Habsburg Archduke Philip the Handsome , son of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Mary of Burgundy , and Joanna of Castile , younger child of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon , the Catholic Monarchs of Spain . Heir of his grandparents, Charles inherited his family dominions at
30275-675: Was the recognition of Joanna as Princess of Asturias, given Prince Miguel's death a year earlier. They succeeded despite facing some opposition from the Castilian Cortes , which were reluctant to create the premises for Habsburg succession. In 1504, when her mother Isabella died, Joanna became Queen of Castile . Charles only met his father again in 1503 while his mother returned in 1504 (after giving birth to Ferdinand in Spain). The Spanish Ambassador Gutierre Gómez de Fuensalida reported that Philip often visited and they had lots of fun. The couple's unhappy marriage and Joanna's unstable mental state however created many difficulties, making it unsafe for
30450-406: Was to combine his intricate systems of alliance, wars, military threats and offers of marriage to realize his expansionist ambitions. Ultimately he succeeded in coercing Bohemia , Hungary and Poland into acquiescence in the Habsburgs' expansionist plan. The fact that the marriages between the Habsburgs and the Trastámaras, originally conceived as a marital alliance against France, would bring
30625-434: Was to make France a pariah nation, encouraging royalty to ridicule its new republican status, and building complex alliances with the other major powers – Austria, Russia and Great Britain – to keep France isolated, diplomatically. The short-term French reaction to defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 was Revanchism : a deep sense of bitterness, hatred and demand for revenge against Germany, especially because of
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