While Europe’s largest economy presents itself as a beacon of multilateralism in a world that is more and more driven by national interests, Berlin is increasingly in the crossfire for putting its own interests above its partners and closest allies.
The most obvious symptom of the growing dissatisfaction with Germany is the deterioration of its relationship with France.
The rifts between Paris and Berlin have become more and more intense in recent weeks and include diverging views on topics such as energy, defence, and Germany’s €200 billion package to aid households and companies.
The rifts even led to a cancellation of the joint government consultations between the two countries scheduled for last week.
Instead of his whole cabinet, it was Chancellor Olaf Scholz who travelled to Paris alone and, after he met with French President Emmanuel Macron, there wasn’t even a press conference – not exactly a sign that things are running smoothly between the two.
However, while most international commentators have focused on Paris and Berlin currently falling out of love, the dissatisfaction with Germany runs much deeper and has spread to other capitals as well.
As things stand right now, Europe’s strongest economies are increasingly at odds with Scholz’s government and its ideas.
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has openly attacked Germany in her first weeks as prime minister of the EU’s third most populous state, putting the pro-European stance of Berlin into question.
While one could argue that Meloni’s far-right background doesn’t make her the most credible voice to criticise Berlin, we should not forget that her technocratic predecessor Mario Draghi didn’t hesitate to point the finger at Germany as well, indicating a broader and longer-running dissatisfaction.
Even Scholz’s Social Democrat colleagues in other member states aren’t exactly happy. After Germany announced its €200 billion aid package, the Socialist-led Spanish government was just as baffled as France and Italy.
While Germany would need the understanding of other member states for its significant gas dependency, this shouldn’t be at the “cost of endangering others,” Spanish Minister for Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera commented on the controversial German bill.
The most outspoken critic of Scholz’s government is Poland, whose Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called Germany a “drug addict” last week.
“Russia has behaved like a drug dealer, a drug dealer who gives his first dose for free because he knows the addict will come and pay very dearly for his next dose,” he said.
It is also unlikely that things are getting better any time soon. Because EU leaders, it appears, fear that there is a new “drug dealer” in town: China.
When Scholz green-lighted the investment of the Chinese firm Cosco into the port of Hamburg last week – the largest port in the country – many feared that Germany was being too lax with Beijing and that it could repeat the mistakes it made in its energy dealings with Russia.
The move sparked additional suspicion as Scholz will travel to China this Thursday (3 November). Many commentators thus interpreted the decision to let the Chinese company invest in German critical infrastructure as a “present” to Beijing.
As the German industry is largely dependent on China – both for its imports and exports – these fears are not unfounded.
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The Roundup:
Germany will further restrict the transport of live animals to countries outside the EU, but without EU-wide regulation, the Agriculture Ministry’s push could remain ineffective.
Germany has cautioned Serbia against cultivating deeper ties with Russia, warning that it could thwart its bid to join the European Union, a German government source said on Tuesday.
Danes went to the polls on Tuesday with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen hoping for a vote of confidence in her handling of the pandemic and for her leadership to overcome soaring inflation and geopolitical insecurity.
Last but not least, don’t forget to check out the weekly Transport Brief: The Living Dead?
Look out for…
- Council of Europe organises First Forum on History Education in Belgrade on Wednesday.
- European Investment Bank Group, comprising European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund, takes part in Web Summit 2022.
Views are the author’s.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic/Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
