‘Für den Merit’. On 2 February 2001, German cartoonist Burkhard Mohr illustrates the good relations and the sense of accomplishment that prevail within the Franco-German duo Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schröder. One year after the tough negotiations in Nice, European issues finally seem to be making some headway: the enlargement of the European Union is on track, the Convention on the Future of Europe is about to open and the entry into circulation of euro coins and banknotes as a means of payment went without a hitch on 1 January 2002. There is ample reason to be proud of the joint action taken by the Franco-German duo.