On 22 January 1963, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic signed a bilateral treaty which aimed at enhancing their cooperation in the fields of international relations, defense and education. Even if the treaty itself was largely symbolic, it constituted nevertheless an important step towards reconciliation between the former enemies and the beginning of the "Franco-German couple".
The conference organised on 22 January 2013 during the Franco-German week of the students of the College of Europe came back on 50 years of common history and attempted to provide an outlook on future developments. The event was open to all students and staff of the College of Europe and was be opened by "mots d'accueil" given by the French and German Ambassadors to Belgium. The greetings were followed by a lecture by Professor Ulrich KROTZ of the European University Institute in Florence. Professor KROTZ is a specialist on the Franco-German relations and co-author of the forthcoming book "Shaping Europe: France, Germany, and Embedded Bilateralism from the Elysée Treaty to Twenty-First Century Politics". After the lecture, there was a possibility for questions addressed to the professor.
An article on the event has been published on the website of the French embassy: Article Embassy of France.
The event is part of the program "L'Année franco-allemande - 50 ans du Traité de Versailles", organised by the French and German governments. More information can be found on http://www.france-allemagne.fr.