Which mechanics drive the "Franco-German engine"? An analysis of how and why France and Germany have managed to shape much of today's EU

Abstract

In this article, we theorize and empirically test the mechanisms often assumed to lie behind the "Franco-German engine". We thereby try to answer the question of what the "Franco-German engine" actually is and how it works in theory and practice. We start our analysis by discussing the "Franco-German engine" in theoretical terms. Our stylized model is then applied to a selection of empirical cases relating to different decision categories as well as policy areas. Our results show that there is little evidence for an important "Franco-German engine" in "day-to-day" policy-making in Brussels, but that there is indeed a causal effect of a "Franco-German engine" on "history-making decisions" in the realms of the Single Market, Schengen, EMU, and CFSP. Scope conditions - in particular the preference spectrum amongst all EU member states - strongly determine the functioning but also the chances of success of common Franco-German integration initiatives.