The governance of the EU is driven by the European Council, which brings together the heads of state or government of the member states. It is not that France and Germany do not have a European outlook in their policies, but rather that the role of their respective governments is to first promote their national interests and only then tend to the needs of the EU as a whole. European leaders failed to seize the chances presented by previous crises, such as during the 2008+ financial meltdown, to introduce new institutions that would eventually legitimise the EU as a federal republic.