two countries can be viewed ,only with favour by the rest of athe world, and this is all the more &rue since it is nlo,t confined to the political problems of the mofment but, by redoubling the ties. between French and German youth, it is helpi,ng to found the future. 15. Lastly, I should tike to recall Ithat together France and the Federal Republic, in concert with seven other countltries, have ,embarksd upon a task of great slcope. The nine covntries ,members of the Com- mon Market wanted to inject new meaning into their concept of Europe. They decided to break witi the notion of empire which was inherited from our most remote past, and (evelryone knows how much this idea has dominated the fate of our coatinennt. They wanted once and for all to repudiate a mlirage jof their history and to replace it by the only idea consis,tent with the conditions of existence in modern Europe, namely, material integration on such a broad scale that it becomes irreve&bla and a poltilcal agreement based on the petrma,nent hmmonization lof national interests, I shall not dwell on the merits, or terms of example, of such an enterprise in a world which, in its turn, shoul1.d also give up all temptation ‘towards empke- baading. I would merely emphasize 2lhat the Germs nation, which was the last victim of the mirage that I have been discus’sing, finds in its past a we&h of evidence of a humanitarian traditiloq, and we are glad that Europe already, anld the Unnted Nations very shortly, can benefit from that tradition. 16. Accolulingly, both at #the tikttwal level as wsll as in lc&eotive tenms we have done what was within our power to kran&rm ‘the politic,al conditions of the 2 Eutopean continent. A,nd while it is true that France 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the relationship between France and Germany, and how their collaboration is helping to shape the future of Europe. It mentions the creation of the Common Market and the idea of material integration and permanent harmonization of national interests. This suggests that the text is focused on international relations and economic cooperation.

**Category**
International trade, Culture