Collective interests of EU come before those of its members

Editor's note: French President Emmanuel Macron did not attend the Munich Security Conference on Feb 15-17. Huang Ying, a researcher in German studies at the Shanghai-based Tongji University, comments in an article for Guancha.cn:

It is noteworthy the Elysee Palace stressed that Macron's absence from the gathering was not related to the dispute in the European Union over Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline that is to be built from Russia to Germany at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

Macron's absence was more conspicuous, as he and his German counterpart Angela Merkel had just signed the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation and Integration on Jan 22. Many people have compared the new treaty to the Elysee Treaty the two neighbors signed on the same day in 1963, which as a treaty of friendship laid the foundation for the forming of a France-Germany axis and Europe's rise.

The United States strongly opposes the Nord Stream 2 project, accusing Germany of letting Russia use energy as a political tool to check and balance Europe. Yet, to many people's surprise, the EU members agreed to the project on Feb 8, deciding to revise the EU rules on natural gas to ensure such projects do not threaten Europe's interests. Now the crux is how to amend the current natural gas regulations.

But it will not be easy for France and Germany to reach consensus on this. France mainly relies on nuclear power, which accounts for more than 75 percent of its electricity consumption, and it believes that Russia will use this project to exacerbate conflicts of interest among EU member states. Germany, meanwhile, gave up nuclear power and turned to renewable energy after the nuclear leaks at Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power Station when it was hit by a tsunami in 2011. However, the supply of renewable energy is intermittent, and the global industrial powerhouse still needs natural gas to ensure a reliable base of power to guarantee its energy supply security. The two are thus apparently at odds on the future revision of the rules.

The other divergence between them is that the German chancellor has implied on different occasions that France should give its permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council to the European Union after the United Kingdom leaves the EU, which is fiercely opposed by France.

But apart from these skirmishes, which remain manageable, the most important bilateral relationship within the EU remains stable, which is crucial to the stability and internal reforms of the bloc.