' speeches this is its great economic success, together with the euro. but it is vital to remain vigilant as to the dangers of fragmentation with the covid crisis. national governments acted appropriately during the critical phase, adopting emergency measures in particular to provide liquidity support to their businesses. but the single market means common rules for businesses : if this were not the case, the divergence between our economies could regrettably increase further. it is therefore necessary to quickly restore the commission's control over state aid and fair competition furthermore, we must revive the single market, above all because we can optimise its power by combining its various components much better : free movement of goods, naturally ; but also the cross - border financing capacity with the financing union ; and last but not least, regulatory power. there are still too many implicit borders and too much fragmentation. we must use regulatory power to guide innovations - the example of the general regulation on data protection ( gdpr ), have the courage to develop an industrial policy with public - private partnerships, as in the case of artificial intelligence and batteries, and make progress, for example, on franco - german business law. climate change and carbon tax lastly, the ecological transition is clearly one of our common structural priorities and carbon tax is generally considered to be the most effective instrument to fight global warming. the european agreement of 21 july provides for the commission proposing in the first half of 2021 a " carbon border adjustment mechanism ", accompanied by a " revised emissions trading system, possibly extending it to the aviation and maritime sectors. " the advantage of this solution is that it provides the european union with a resource of its own and restores fair competition between european products and imported products that have a higher carbon footprint. the success of this instrument will depend on our negotiations at the wto, and on its more extensive integration into european policies ( transport, industrial policy, etc. ). * * earlier i mentioned the difference in terminology between french and german : the french use " couple ", while the germans speak of " engine ". but i will conclude by quoting a frenchman, clement beaune, the new minister for european affairs, who i believe sums up the situation eloquently : " celebration is necessary, but it is never enough and does not dispense with what has for six decades been the unique strength of the franco - german relationship : a working relationship, organised at all levels of our political and administrative life, whose power stems from the

francois villeroy de galhau : france and germany facing european challenges in the crisis speech by mr francois villeroy de galhau, governor of the bank of france, at the berlin academy, berlin, 10 september 2020. * * * ambassador descotes professors schwan, goring, kaplan, ladies and gentlemen, i am very pleased to be with you today, despite the obstacles related to covid. the berlin academy is one of the essential forums where franco - german relations, which are at the heart of the european project, can be deepened over time. i am completely convinced of this. i am french, but my family's roots are in saarland. my family has lived there since the end of the 18th century and its ceramics manufacturing company villeroy & boch is part of the german “ mittelstand ”. i love germany, its language and its culture. i've always been struck by a difference in terminology : the french speak, as romantics, of the franco - german " couple ", and the germans speak as engineers and use the term “ engine ”. but let ’ s set cliches aside : france also has excellent engineers, and romanticism was also born in germany with goethe, and schiller. and above let ’ s all see the common reality. we are experiencing, i believe, one of those " franco - german moments " that will mark history, and we can now rightly celebrate it : on 18 may, a franco - german initiative on the european stimulus package ; on 21 july, a historic agreement by the european council in brussels on a eur 750 billion package, supported by a united franco - german alliance ; on 20 august, the chancellor visited the president of the republic in bregancon. despite any fears, faced with the threat of the covid crisis, germany has clearly and unequivocally opted for europe and the euro. however, in its early stages, the crisis appeared to distance us, due to our different abilities to respond, and sometimes in different orders. europe has once again demonstrated in this crisis that it is stronger than is commonly believed. i will concentrate here on economic matters, because that is where my competence lies. naturally, there are broader issues in europe, that are concrete and emotional : those of our borders, our institutions, our military and diplomatic power, and, in a wider sense, our common identity, which is apparent to our fellow citizens. the