MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2021) French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune has urged his country to lay the groundwork for closer ties with the incoming German Federal government by expediting dialogue with key German political parties before a new cabinet assumes power in Berlin.
"I do not fear a change of line, because the German coalition parties are all pro-European. We will not agree on everything, but our discussion with these parties must start now, to work together quickly," Beaune tweeted on Monday.
The diplomat told the France 2 broadcaster that Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), which emerged victorious in the Sunday vote, is the party with which Paris should negotiate issues related to investments and budget regulations, while defense and security affairs should better be talked with the CDU/CSU bloc, which gathered the second highest number of votes.
According to preliminary results, the Social Democrats have secured 206 seats in the German parliament while CDU/CSU 196. They are followed by the Greens with projected 118 seats, the Free Democratic Party with 92 seats, the far-right Alternatives for Germany with 83 and the Left with 39 seats.
