The Franco-German Ministerial Council (, ) is the regular meeting of the ministerial cabinet of both the government of Germany and the government of France. The joint ministerial council is held approximately twice a year—in spring and autumn. History The Franco-German Ministerial Council replaces the regular summits of the heads of state of France and Germany as designated in the Élysée Treaty of 1963. During the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty it was decided to put the ministerial staff into regular direct contact. It is the duty of the respective foreign ministers to prepare the ministerial council. The Franco-German anniversary declaration of 22 January 2003 also includes sections to put councils at regional level in direct contact. The annual summits of the heads of state of France and Germany had already been replaced by Blaesheim Process with regular meetings every six to eight weeks named after the little town Blaesheim near Strasbourg where the first meeting was held on 31 January 2001. The joint ministerial council represents another step in the Franco-German integration —the original Elysee Treaty of 1963 saw the creation of a student exchange office ( - OFAJ / - DFJW) that was extended into a joint council on cultural exchange in 1988 ( - HCCFA / - DFKR). On the 22nd anniversary of the Elysee Treaty (22 January 1988) a joint council on economic affairs was created ( - CEFFA / - DFFWR) organising meetings of the ministers of finance about four times a year and a joint council on security affairs was created ( - CFADS / - DFVSR) organising meetings of the ministers of external affairs and the military about twice a year. An annual joint ministerial council on environment protection ( - CFAE / ) was first held on 13 February 1990 following a resolution of the ministerial consultations on 2 November 1989. On the 50th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty a declaration was resolved by the Franco-German Ministerial Council on 22 January 2013. The "Erklärung des Deutsch-Französischen Ministerrats anlässlich des 50. Jahrestags des Élysée-Vertrags" asked for more integration on the administration level. After that point the joint ministerial council meetings turned to an annual interval. The declaration named goals such as the harmonisation of the social modell, the education system, the taxation standard and it pointed to MALE drones as part of the bilateral military collaboration. On the 2017