KARACHI, May 9: To mark Europe Day in Karachi, French consul general Christian Ramage and German consul general Tilo Klinner made a joint presentation on ‘Vision for a common European home’ organised by the Area Study Centre for Europe (ASCE) at Karachi University on Wednesday.

The consuls general provided a concise evolution of French-German ties. They highlighted the pattern of wars between the two countries, dating as far back as the 16th century.

They said that it was in fact German nationalism that developed in opposition to French domination under Napoleon.

They said that following the French defeat in the Franco-German war in 1870 the territories of Alsace and Lorraine remained a major bone of contention between the two countries for over a hundred years. “But this was more than just a border disputes” said Mr Ramage drawing parallels between the region and Kashmir. “The French were left with a desire for revenge after having lost Alsace Lorraine and until the 20th century prepared for war with Germany under the view of recovering this lost territory.”

After the First World War the French regained Lorraine, but at a major cost: 1.7 million Frenchmen were killed and 2.5 million Germans died. It was the first industrial war but also a real trauma for the Continent, however, there remained a desire to punish the Germans — a mindset that led to the Second World War, continued the French consul general.

It was said in the presentation that following the Second World War, with over 4 million Germans dead and 560,000 French casualties, what were now known as the “founding fathers”, men from the generation that went through the war and who might even be regarded as fairly conservative and nationalist, launched a framework towards a greater European cooperation.

In fact, 9th May is celebrated following the government proposal of French foreign minister Robert Schumann (regarded as one of the founders of the European Union, the Council of Europe and Nato) for the establishment of a community which would deepen cooperation between the European nations.

In 1951 the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was formed with the aim of preventing secret production of tanks and aircraft as well as allowing free movement of commodities — fulfilling both economic and political objectives, the audience was told.

The speakers emphasised the centrality of Germany and France to the notion of European integrity and said that the Treaty of Rome of 1957 symbolised the Franco-German reconciliation.

But the reconciliation process didn’t stop there. Believing firmly that their relationship should be founded on friendship and address the needs of the people, the countries signed the Elysée treaty in 1963 (also known as the friendship treaty) and organised a regular exchange of students (more than 200,000 a year) and encouraged the twinning of cities, chambers of commerce, schools, hospitals, and so on.

The consuls general again pointed out how a similar programme between India and Pakistan would be a significant contributor towards peace, as it was important to include the minds and attitudes of the people in a durable reconciliation process.

The consuls general added that collaboration also took place between the nations’ civil services, for example most French and German diplomats speak the other language, they participate in common training programmes and French foreign diplomats even work at the German foreign office.

Furthermore regular summits are held between different French and German government bodies (in fact the first visit of new French president François Hollande will be to the German head of state, Angela Merkel), as well as joint cabinet meetings. The countries have industrial partnerships (Airbus), there is even cooperation on the military front (the 20th anniversary of French and German brigade was marked on 14th July 2009) and, perhaps most interestingly, the two countries have common history textbooks.

“Before the 1940s peace was unthinkable, since the 1950s war is unthinkable,” said Mr Klinner.

“In fact on 14th July 1994 (French national day) the German army held a parade on the Champs Elysée,” said Mr Ramage. “Although this outraged some local commentators, the presence of German military on French soil is now entirely common.”

From friendship, the relationship moved on to loftier goals as since February 2010 the two countries granted a common status to mixed French-German couples. There are in fact 55,000 marriages per year between French and German citizens. “Perhaps it will be the first step towards a common European marriage status,” said the French consul general.

“However at the moment this is unique in the world”.

Answering a question about the desire of smaller states to join the EU, the German consul general said that the EU was trying to avoid giving the impression of being an exclusive club.

Mr Ramage said that in order to join the EU a country had to share the common values of democracy, rule of law, human rights, etc, and that generally countries were asked to reform institutions along these lines as well as reform their economies. Answering whether lessons learnt by France and Germany could be applied to India and Pakistan, Mr Klinner said that peace and cooperation could be envisaged when both countries decided to sit together, without assistance/intervention from the US, the UN, or any foreign powers.

They also emphasised the importance of Pakistan-India trade, saying that most trade in Europe was among member states.

The question about Turkey’s membership was also raised, to which Mr Ramage replied that this was a question he had frequently been asked in Pakistan and said that it was important for an aspiring member to accept the “rules of the club” before being able to accede.

He said that Turkey would need to recognise the EU member state Cyprus. Mr Klinner added that the negotiations were still ongoing and there was a chance of Turkey acceding to the EU in the next 10-15 years.

Director of the ASCE Prof Dr Moonis Ahmar concluded the session saying that this free movement of goods, services, people and capital did not mean that Europe was homogenous, on the contrary, the Continent had so many different languages and cultures.

He drew a parallel between the Continent and South Asia and asked whether there could be a so-called “vision for a common South Asian home”.

“Would it be impossible to envision a South Asia day?” he asked.

He said he believed that there was such a possibility, given that even the creation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation had been unthinkable in the 1960s and 70s.