France and Germany are holding their first joint parliamentary session as part of their commitment to forging closer ties.
The 50 deputies from each country are from almost all political parties, proportional to their numbers in the national parliaments. The plan is to convene the new joint parliament twice a year in the future. It follows the signing of the Treaty of Aachen, which aims to bolster Franco-German co-operation in Europe. The new parliament’s purpose is to enforce that treaty, signed in January, and to monitor “affairs of common interest” – including foreign policy, security and defence.