its outstanding track record on employment : for two decades up to 2019, the employment rate grew twice as fast as france ’ s for example iv, resulting in a considerable gap. in recent years, france has nevertheless started to bridge the gap, thanks to reforms in labour laws, unemployment insurance and the apprenticeship system. despite these recent improvements, and the creation of more than one million jobs since the end of 2019, the unemployment rate is still at 7. 4 %, far from full employment, while recruitment difficulties still affect almost half ( 45 % ) of french companies. in order to close this gap up, the rapid development of skills – especially scientific skills – should be given a high priority. as you all know, there is a very strong correlation between economic growth and education. in europe, we have some of the best education facilities. but, as the latest pisa scores released last week show v, the covid crisis has negatively impacted education and performance in many oecd countries : results in maths, reading and science have all plummeted in germany and france when compared with 2018. but, if we take the long view, southern europe – including my country – can take inspiration from northern europe, which has generally been able to maintain higher standards of educational achievement. on - the job training is another factor in growth as tomorrow ’ s jobs will involve even more change than today ’ s. take the example of digital experts : in 2022, there were 9. 4 million experts, rising from 7. 8 million in 2019, but still far below our target of 20 million by 2030 vi. furthermore, the transformation of work will increasingly involve common requirements for our two countries. the first shift is psychological and managerial. beyond collective enrichment through work, we must find a way to enrich work itself. despite what we often hear, i don't believe that young people - your generation - or europeans in general, " no longer want to work " after covid. but covid has highlighted and amplified changes in motivation for work. the welcome adoption of teleworking, a strong demand for autonomy and professional mobility, as well as a real desire for a sense of purpose in work, are page 4 sur 10 all potential levers : none of these are easy for employers, but they too will have to change. the second shift is now the shortage of labour, following a period of excess reflected in high unemployment. european countries will soon be directly confronted with ageing demographics :

, for its part, require another 125 billion euros every year. blended finance is needed for both transformations : the right mix of public and private financing could require more specifically a type of investment contract that tempts in private investment in the wake of public funding. page 9 sur 10 furthermore, the banking union, which has been so far only half implemented, is a natural complement to the cmu. i hereby call – loudly and clearly – for a “ green and digital financing union ”. together, pan - european capital markets and banks will be a powerful vector, enabling funds to flow freely across the euro area, especially for the use of the euro area ’ s excess of savings over investment, which should amount to around 370 billion euros or 2. 6 % of gdp in 2023 xvii. as part of a cmu, it is necessary to increase the supply of safe eurodenominated assets. following the welcome launch in 2021 of the next generation eu ( ngeu ) programme, a first step in forging a unified approach to financing eu borrowing was taken by the commission in 2023. under this approach, bonds xviii can be issued under the single name of " eu bonds ", which has the advantage of avoiding fragmentation and boosting the liquidity of issues. but we need to go much further, by aiming to combine the bond issues of the commission, the european stability mechanism ( esm ) and possibly the european investment bank : the pool would amount to 1, 100 billion euros, and we would then create a genuine european resource and benchmark. * * i would like to conclude by quoting a great american, born in germany, who has just passed away. henry kissinger is reputed to have asked " who do i call if i want to speak to europe? ” the exact quote would appear to be apocryphal, but the question remains a valid one – leadership in europe, and especially, leadership of europe. the dangerous world of 2023 requires the reawakening of europe, a force for peace and cooperation. and the anxious europeans of 2023 need the reawakening of europe, if we are to fulfil our promise of a sustainable prosperity. i have set out tonight a number of shared economic solutions. i would wish them to be part of the debate in the european elections, and i would still more wish them to support a shared franco - german ambition. to divide france and germany would be to condemn our two countries