Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron only have a year to save their vision of the European Union, according to a German political correspondent, who said the EU will continue to struggle this year.
Mrs Merkel only recently completed a long-awaited deal to form another grand coalition with the Social Democrats, and is set to begin a fourth term as Chancellor next week.
Nina Haase, a correspondent for DW, said the threat posed by Brexit, Donald Trump’s trade war and the Italian election are dwarfed by the potential risk of next year’s European elections.
The European Parliament is set to be elected in May 2019, and Haase claims this could be the final nail in the coffin for the Franco-German EU agenda.
She told the German broadcaster: ” Merkel has to take Macron’s outstretch hand. The window for keeping the EU together is very, very narrow.
“Europe is in peril. In Germany, we have a tendency to walk on a bit of a cloud, but Europe is in crisis.
“She has to accept Macron’s hand because next year we have the European elections and we are already seeing a rise in populism.
“Things will get much harder if the right-wing populists win more votes at those elections.
This follows shock reports earlier today that Mrs Merkel and Mr Macron may delay their controversial eurozone reform plans due to a widespread backlash.
This week, a surprise revolt among twelve European countries emerged to counter Mr Macron and Mrs Merkel’s EU plans.
The German leader is set to meet with the French President next week, but they have already postponed a plan to propose the huge reforms at a summit of European leaders this month.
The pair had previously vowed to give the European Union a fresh push towards closer integration.
Voters across Europe will go to the polls in late May next year in the first European Parliament electons without Britain.