Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil met his French counterpart Éric Lombard at Schloss Genshagen in the German state of Brandenburg on 16 July 2025. Their discussions focussed on improving competitiveness, strengthening European sovereignty and enhancing security and defence.
During the meeting, Lars Klingbeil and Éric Lombard issued a joint declaration.
You can find the
declaration here [pdf, 151KB]
.
Both ministers share the firm conviction that Europe’s economic power is largely dependent on economic trends in France and Germany, Minister Klingbeil said. Hence Germany and France will work together and do everything they can to achieve new growth, in order to make Europe even fitter for the future, including jointly investing in secure jobs.
Lars Klingbeil and Éric Lombard also announced a bilateral initiative that reaffirms their joint commitment to promoting innovation and competitiveness in Europe. Details on the Franco-German initiative “Financing Innovative Ventures in Europe (FIVE)” can be found in this press release (in German).
A task force led by Jörg Kukies, former German finance minister, and Christian Noyer, former governor of the Bank of France, will develop proposals to significantly improve financing conditions for start-ups. Minister Klingbeil emphasised that Germany and France want innovative European companies to be able to grow into global champions.
Before the meeting, the two finance ministers published a joint article in the German newspaper Handelsblatt and in the French newspaper Les Echos. Europe must show political leadership by championing democracy, open markets and the multilateral world order, the two ministers argue in the article. You can find the op-ed here in German and in English.
