The war in Ukraine is painfully exposing the decline of German leadership in Europe. Once referred to as the European ‘hegemon’ during the euro crisis, Berlin is now showing hesitance and indecisiveness instead of leading Europe through what could be described as the crisis of the century.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany has been pressing the brakes the hardest when it comes to European efforts to put the spoiler of international peace in its place.
In almost every sanction round – from banning Russia from SWIFT in March to the current issue of energy imports – Germany is one of the last countries to drop its opposition and clear the way for joint EU action against the aggressor.
The same picture emerges when it comes to weapons deliveries, where Germany is still hesitant to provide Ukraine with the tanks they need to fend off the Russians in Donbas.
Given the current political fiasco, it is hard to believe that Germany was once feared as reaching an almost hegemonic position in Europe during the euro crisis, where it managed to impose its vision of austerity on the continent.
But how did we get here, and why is Europe’s economic powerhouse lacking any serious capacity to guide us through this crisis?
The easy answer is, of course, to point the finger at Chancellor Olaf Scholz and say he is the one stalling the process and showing indecisiveness in Ukraine’s hour of need. Something like this would have never happened if Angela Merkel were still in power, critics utter in Berlin and Brussels.
However, this is only part of the story. While Scholz’s leadership skills have been criticised in recent weeks – even by his coalition partners in the FDP and the Greens – the problem is much more profound.
For Germany, foreign policy was always rooted in its economic interests. It resembled more of an external economic policy instead of focusing on the tough decisions that come with the mess that is international security.
Leadership in Europe meant, first and foremost, protecting its economic interests and spreading its ordoliberal model across Europe.
This ‘economy first’ approach was, of course, also the reason why Berlin could exert dominance during the euro and Greek debt crisis because all that foreign policy was about was economics.
In hindsight, it almost feels as if Germany stumbled through the messy place that is international security blindfolded. After all, Merkel was responsible for Germany’s energy dependency on Russia.
And economic interests once again prevailed over security concerns when she disregarded the warnings by allies and laid the groundwork for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline – only a few years after Russia revealed its true colours in Ukraine and annexed Crimea.
Germany managed to lead Europe as long as the EU was primarily concerned with questions of economic integration and the problems that come with it. But now, where Europe has to sacrifice its economic interests to support Ukraine, and the situation requires strong geopolitical leadership, Berlin is not up to the challenge.
After all, Germany is currently forced to walk on a turf it is not used to – geopolitics.
The Roundup
Thanks to efforts to diversify oil suppliers and with support from the Polish government, Germany is days away from being independent of Russian oil, Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck said.
The European Union warned Tuesday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine risks setting off a fresh nuclear disaster in Europe, 36 years after the accident at the Chernobyl plant.
The German ‘traffic light’ coalition will intensify its efforts to support Ukraine with weapons and is green-lighting the delivery of heavy weaponry by industry, marking a distinct change in approach.
Two explosions damaged Soviet-era radio masts that broadcast Russian radio from a village in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria on Tuesday, prompting Moldova’s president to convene an urgent security meeting.
A member of the European Central Bank’s executive board has criticised crypto finance for its lack of transparency and the risks it poses to financial stability, describing crypto-assets as “speculative assets that can cause major damage to society” and calling for a faster and more stringent regulation.
The European Commission’s proposal to fight child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online is still pending, while the EU has become a ‘destination of choice’ when it comes to hosting such content, according to a new report.
The EU Court of Justice (CJEU) has upheld the controversial Article 17 of the Copyright Directive, meaning platforms will be directly liable for – and responsible for removing – copyrighted content uploaded to their sites.
Discontent with the absence of a hoped-for electoral reform in neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina, Zagreb has blasted as “illegitimate” the upcoming elections in BiH, while the European Commission repeated they were key for the fragile Balkan country’s European future.
The EU countryside is facing the most challenging moment of the century, the Spanish Minister of Agriculture Luis Planas told EURACTIV’s partner EFE Agro, adding that Spain aims to secure food supply while guarding its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic plan’s green ambitions.
Look out for…
- Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica will meet with Ukrainian Minister of Social Policy.
- European Network of Ombudsmen (ENO) conference on the role of Ombudsmen in times of crisis.
- EU Agency for Fundamental Rights holds a webinar with the Association of Polish cities.
Views are the author’s.
[Edited by Alice Taylor/Zoran Radosavljevic]
Source: euractiv.com
