The Franco-German partnership and lessons for the Western Balkans

Story Highlights

• "One of the fruits of this treaty is the Franco-German Youth Office (FGYO). In concrete terms, more than eight million young Germans and young French people have crossed the Rhine since 1963 to live in the neighbouring country for a few weeks. My own children experienced this adventure. This is undoubtedly the only case in history where a treaty has genuinely and profoundly changed the mentalities of entire generations. The Western Balkans have now decided to carry out a similar experiment by creating the Regional Youth Cooperation Office of the Western Balkans (RYCO). This is a historical opportunity," says French Ambassador to Tirana Bernard Fitoussi "Our partnership is strong, dynamic and vibrant. And this is also necessary because we are facing many challenges in the world today. The Elysée Treaty became a foundation for intensive bilateral cooperation in politics, the economy, culture and society. Our cooperation is multifaceted and very concrete, with our governments meeting regularly in the Franco-German Ministerial Council and taking joint decisions on crucial issues for our countries," says German Ambassador to Tirana Susanne Schütz