Bilateralism in multilateralism: France and Germany in key episodes of European integration politics and history

Franco-German bilateralism has critically shaped multilateral European integration and the European polity at large. This paper argues that the highly institutionalized relationship between France and Germany represents a core link, both for the two states and the European /integration process. Empirically, the paper scrutinizes the role and behaviour of France and Germany during three key crisis episodes of European integration and the subsequent evolution of the European polity, namely the (British) budgetary rebate crisis, the end of the Cold War and German unification, and the most recent COVID-19 pandemic. The paper finds that even though each episode was likely to impair cooperation, embedded bilateralism proved to be resilient and importantly shaped European polity development. These findings, building on extensive archival research, primary policy documents, and expert interviews, have implications for European integration theory, as well as for the future of Franco-German bilateralism and multilateral cooperation in Europe more generally.