French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier met on Tuesday to reinforce relations between the two countries over common issues. <br /><br />Their first joint visits will be to Georgia and Moldova, which both have EU aspirations. <br /><br />At a joint news conference, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said: “From the perspective of the European elections we have chosen to travel together to underline the significance of the European Union to our co-citizens and the ambitions we have for its future.”<br /><br />One of the aims is to adopt concrete measures together to tackle troubled countries skirting the EU or in the Arab-Muslim world, which are thought to hint at the Ukraine and Tunisia. <br /><br />The ministers share a common political bond – both belong to the Party of European Socialists and at home in Germany, Steinmeier is part of a grand coalition government led by centre-right Chancellor Angela Merkel. <br /><br />Despite the show of unity, Germany stressed its reluctance to send troops to Africa. Instead, Steinmeier thanked France for its military operations in Mali and the Central African Republic.
