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French President Jacques Chirac, pictured, recived an unusual present of a beer mug to mark his final EU summit.
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What to get the French president who has everything and is at his last EU summit? German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided the answer was an antique beerstein.
At festivities for the 50th anniversary of the European Union Sunday, the German chancellor presented the French president Chirac with a rare 18th century mug during a luncheon for the 27 EU leaders.
"We gave him a beer mug to add to his collection," abeamingMerkel told reporters after hosting a summit on the 50th anniversary of the EU's founding Treaty of Rome.
"It's a piece of history," she said, noting that it dated from a time when "Napoleon was fighting in Egypt."
"He has left his mark on Europe in a very positive sense," she said. "There was a very generous round of applause for him" from the other EU leaders.
Chirac congratulated Merkel for hosting the European birthday party in Berlin, which included cultural events over the weekend throughout the capital and the signing of a declaration on the bloc's principles and goals.
And he thanked her for her presidency of the EU, which runs to June 30, saying the union could not move forward without Franco-German cooperation.
"No progress in Europe is possible if there is not agreement between France and Germany," Chirac said, calling the city of Berlin a "symbol of Franco-German reconciliation".
"If there is Franco-German agreement, things move forward, more or less quickly, but if you do not, you have gridlock."
The 74-year-old Chirac, who has been active in French politics for more than 40 years, ruled out seeking a third term as president this month.
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(AFP)
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對于什么也不缺、最后一次出席歐盟峰會的法國總統(tǒng)來說，該送他些什么呢？德國總理安吉拉·默克爾決定送一個古董啤酒杯。
在上周日的歐盟50周年慶祝典禮上，默克爾總理在共有27位歐盟成員國領導人出席的午宴上將一個18世紀的珍貴酒杯贈送給了法國總統(tǒng)希拉克。
默克爾主持完紀念歐盟的奠基石《羅馬條約》簽署50周年的峰會后，在接受記者采訪時開心的說：“希望這個啤酒杯能為希拉克總統(tǒng)的個人收藏增色。”
她說：“這個啤酒杯見證了一段歷史”，可追溯到“拿破侖攻打埃及”那個年代。
默克爾說：“希拉克為歐洲做出了卓越的貢獻“，歐盟成員國的其他領導人們“對他的評價都很高”。
希拉克祝賀默克爾能在柏林主持歐盟的50歲生日宴會。歐盟50周年紀念慶典包括上周末在柏林舉行的一系列文化活動和簽署有關歐盟共同原則和目標的宣言等。
默克爾的歐盟輪值主席任期將于今年6月30日結束，希拉克對默克爾在其間所做的努力表示了感謝，并稱法德合作對于歐盟的進步具有重要意義。
希拉克說：“如果沒有法德兩國之間的和解，歐洲便不會有進步。”他還將柏林譽為“法德和解的象征”。
“法德和解帶來的是或多或少的進步，但如果沒有法德的合作，則不會有任何進步。”
74歲的法國總統(tǒng)希拉克在法國政壇上活躍了40多年，他于本月表示，將不打算尋求第三屆總統(tǒng)連任。
（ 英語點津姍姍編輯）
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