"Keeping good relations is a challenge, which all ... countries face now and then," Hebestreit told reporters during a cabinet briefing, discussing the upcoming visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Germany in July.
Hebestreit pointed out that he does not share the view that Berlin and Paris are not living through the best of times in terms of bilateral relations, as one of the reporters put it. The spokesman compared the relations between France and Germany to a good marriage that needs fresh impetus time and again.
The German official also said that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will pay a visit to Paris next Tuesday and will take part in a mountain hike with her French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, in near future.
"We deepen our relations ... including in what concerns cabinet councils. So that they are not as formal as they used to be," he said.
French and German media reported in late 2022 that the relations between Berlin and Paris were at their lowest point, the most controversial topics being the natural gas price cap, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unwillingness to support Macron's vision for European sovereignty and common defense, as well as Macron's separate negotiations on construction of the Barcelona to Marseilles green hydrogen pipeline.
A bilateral minister councils meeting was canceled in October due to the rumors related to the pipeline. Hebestreit said that the participants needed more time to agree on a number of topics in the field of energy and defense.