French nuclear and German coal: A look at energy strategies in EU’s leading economies • FRANCE 24

French nuclear and German coal: A look at energy strategies in EU’s leading economies • FRANCE 24

[Music] Vio joins us on set for business good evening to you Emanuel macron’s on a state visit to Germany the first by French president some 24 years the two nations are seeking to find common ground on issues on which they don’t necessarily see eye to eye well Mark there two economic leading economic powers in the EU and have tried to show a united front but have clashed on various issues more often than not Germany makes up around a quarter of the eu’s GDP while France accounts for about 177% both have struggled with weak growth postco exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine but there’s a stark difference in how they manage public finances the German government is obliged to balance their books under a strict debt break mechanism enshrined in the country’s Constitution thanks to this it manages to keep its debt and deficit levels mostly in line with the eu’s rules France has a bad reputation on this with a budget regularly in deficit however the too little public investment is Weighing on the quality of infrastructure in Germany and it remains heavily dependent on foreign energy Imports as for France it’s struggling with soaring debt amid sluggish growth and higher interest rates mark one of the major policy differences is that on energy well Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear energy in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster has made it more dependent on energy Imports particularly Russian gas the country however ever has boosted its power production from Renewables and has said it’s no longer reliant on Russian energy but Coal also remains a major source of energy accounting for 30% of total production France is pushing for nuclear energy to be at the heart of the eu’s green energy transition plans it accounts for three quarters of France’s domestic energy production so it’s one of the areas where it’s hard to find Common Ground rules indeed Germany having closed its nuclear part completely uh France and Germany though remain very much uh important trading partners to each other don’t they Germany Remains by far the biggest trading partner for France accounting for 133% of total exchanges of goods and services when other major Partners like Belgium Italy the United States and China it represents around 7 to 8% last year almost 14% of French exports went to Germany far ahead of the number two destination Italy and nearly 133% of imports came from Germany ahead of China mark other news China Japan South Korea have held their first trilateral summit for four years well South Korea’s president Yin sukun hosted China’s Premier League Jan and Japanese prime minister Fimo kishida in Saul aiming to revitalize negotiations for a three-way Free Trade Agreement the meeting comes amid heightened tensions just as North Korea launched a spy satellite though it failed and Beijing is locked in trade battles with the United States and the European Union the Chinese premier called on his counterparts to reject protectionism in a joint statement the three leaders reaffirmed their commitment to keeping markets open and avoiding supply chain disruptions but let’s listen to the Chinese Premier we should regard each other as close Partners on our path for development constantly explore Mutual advantages and growth opportunities for the three country’s economies and achieve a higher level of mutual benefit in win-win cooperation a change of pace now one of the world’s most famous dogs and face of a cryptocurrency has sadly died yeah sad story there tributes have been pouring in for the for kabosu the Japanese Shiba Inu that inspired the Doge internet meme after it died at the age of 18 the dog was adopted from an animal shelter in 2008 and became an internet sensation after its owner posted a photo of her which went viral and ended up as the face of Dogecoin a cryptocurrency that was originally created as a joke then in 2018 Elon Musk started publicly promoting the coin leading to a surge in its value he has recently accepted Dogecoin for payment for Tesla cars at its peak in 2021 the Dogecoin Market was worth $88 billion now upon the news of the dogs passing musk himself paid tribute with this image sending the crypto surging another 5% though it dropped down again later on oh considerations to the owners of kabosu but what an age for a dog 18 not bad 18 they happy life not bad at all not bad at all UK thank you very much indeed for that

As Emmanuel Macron continues his state visit to Germany, the first by a French president in 24 years, we take a look at how the two countries manage their public finances and at issues they don’t see eye-to-eye on. Plus, the world’s most famous Shiba Inu has died at the age of 18. Kabosu went from a rescued dog to an internet sensation, and became the face of meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin, with blessings from Elon Musk. 

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