Beleaguered German Chancellor Scholz points to Brussels for policy choices

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised the general lack of accountability of EU institutions on Tuesday (19 March), warning that not just national governments but also the European Commission and Parliament need to be held responsible by the public for policy choices.

The chancellor‘s doubling down on EU accountability comes at a time when his coalition government, made up of his centre-left SPD, the Greens, and the liberal FDP, is struggling with low popularity ratings ahead of June’s EU election.

Speaking at a conference in Berlin on Tuesday, the chancellor lashed out at critics and called for closer focus on and scrutiny of EU policymaking.

“When something is agreed on in Europe in interplay between the Council [ie. EU Countries] the Commission, and the [European] Parliament, at best, it is national governments that are berated for things they did not ask for,” Scholz told attendants.

If, on the other hand, “a German Bundestag lawmaker does anything, they will be held accountable,“ he added.

Ahead of the EU elections, the chancellor called for more public scrutiny for lawmakers in Brussels, insisting they have to “justify what they do, good or bad, to the European public”, which would “help democracy”.

As an example, he named alleged overregulation coming from the European Commission under the watch of President Ursula von der Leyen, who belongs to Scholz’s main political rival, the conservative CDU party.

Opposition parties in Germany have been blaming Scholz’s coalition for Germany‘s intermittent economic weakness, while denouncing excessive bureaucracy.

Adding to the pressure, the chancellor has also been engulfed in a row over his resistance to the delivery of German long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

Scholz’ exasperated comments appeared like an attempt to deflect some of the blame for his own predicament, as he said that member states were forced to negotiate and ultimately sign off on unwanted EU files “to avoid anything worse”.

While each country has a vote in the EU’s legislative process, governments have repeatedly fired at “EU institutions” that supposedly decide without taking into account their country’s position. However, there have been numerous instances of national governments blocking EU legislation until their concerns were addressed.

Shifting blame to Brussels is also a popular strategy among populists and far-right parties, which like to call out supposedly aloof, technocratic decision-making in Brussels.

At Tuesday’s event, Scholz also called the debate on Taurus missiles for Ukraine „ridiculous“ and „embarrassing“. He reminded attendants that Germany was the second-largest donor of aid to Kyiv and stressing that he was proud of his “considerate” decision-making.

[Edited by Aurélie Pugnet/Zoran Radosavljevic]

Germany’s Scholz doubles down on opposition to Taurus missile delivery to Ukraine

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday (13 March) yet again cited the need for the involvement of German soldiers as an obstacle to the delivery of long-range missiles to Ukraine, amid growing question marks about the motivation behind his objection.