‘Franco-German summit. Stability pact. Are you sure you’re holding tight, mon ami?’ On 14 June 1997, following the ninth Franco-German summit, held this time at Futuroscope in Poitiers, German cartoonist Jürgen Tomicek illustrates the lack of understanding between Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who seems to be bearing the entire weight of the stability pact on his shoulders, and his French partner, represented by President Jacques Chirac, who is taking a somewhat casual attitude to the requirements of the pact. The stability pact is an instrument designed to enable the countries in the euro zone to coordinate their national budgetary policies more effectively and to avoid the emergence of excessive public deficits.