| Formation | 25 March 2019; 6 years ago (2019-03-25) |
|---|---|
| Type | Inter-parliamentary institution |
| Headquarters | |
| Membership | 100 members of parliament |
Official languages | French, German |
Chairpersons | |
TheFranco-German Parliamentary Assembly (French:Assemblée parlementaire franco-allemande,APFA;German:Deutsch-Französische Parlamentarische Versammlung,DFPV) is ajoint body of theGerman Bundestag and theFrench National Assembly formed to enable cooperation between both houses.
The French and German parliaments had previously held a joint session on occasion of the 40th anniversary of theÉlysée Treaty, a key document forFrance–Germany relations afterWorld War II, in January 2003.[1]
First steps for an inter-parliamentary organisation were laid with regular meetings of parliament committees during 2018.[2] This led to theAachen Treaty, signed byAngela Merkel andEmmanuel Macron on 22 January 2019. Subsequent talks betweenBundestag andAssemblée nationale representatives ultimately resulted in an inter-parliamentary agreement to create a new parliamentary assembly, which was approved separately by both legislatures.[3]
The assembly's first session was held on 25 March 2019 in Paris after the agreement was signed byWolfgang Schäuble andRichard Ferrand, each parliament'spresident.[4]
The parliamentary assembly does not have the capacity to make binding resolutions or legislation, nor any budgetary authority. Its goal is to discuss matters of French-German cooperation, such as the ratification of theAachen Treaty, cross-border development projects, and the implementation ofEU Directives. Other topics for discussion include foreign, defence and security policy.[5]
Sessions are held twice per year, alternating between Paris and Berlin.[6]
The joint assembly is composed of 100 members, 50 sent by each parliament. ThePresident of the Bundestag andPresident of the National Assembly are its chairpersons. An administrative bureau (French:bureau de l’Assemblée,German:Vorstand der Versammlung) led bySabine Thillaye (France) andAndreas Jung (Germany) was formed.[7]
