The chancellor promotes new partnerships between Europe and the whole world – and at eye level. The idea is correct. But first the chancellor should mend his relationship with the other EU states.
Olaf Scholz is currently traveling a lot. The chancellor has just completed a trip to Africa lasting several days. Why became clear on Tuesday in Strasbourg. On the occasion of Europe Day, the Chancellor gave a keynote speech in the EU Parliament – and spoke clear words for his circumstances:
“Europe must turn to the world.” In trade, future partners could be Mexico, India, Australia or Kenya. Scholz repeatedly emphasizes that the EU must keep the agreements with these countries “fair” and at “equal footing”. Otherwise, other states soon dictated the rules.
The chancellor is right about that. In competition with countries like China or Russia, the EU and Germany have to prove again and again that cooperation based on democratic principles is the better alternative.
Absage an Macron
At the same time, however, Scholz must be careful not to leave the other EU countries behind on this path. He may show a lot of respect for potential new partners in the world – but at EU level the federal government has recently failed to show this virtue. Key word: the end for the combustion engine, which everyone had already agreed on and which then came to nothing. Because Germany torpedoed it at the insistence of the FDP.
And the Franco-German partnership, that friendship that many describe as the motor of the EU, has also been in better shape. Scholz’s speech also showed this: Without mentioning the French President directly, he used the large European stage to smack Emmanuel Macron. “Anyone who nostalgically indulges in the dream of a European world power, who serves national great power fantasies, is stuck in the past.”
What the Chancellor means is clear: Macron’s statements after his trip to China. There, the French President recently said – without taking a corresponding vote – that the EU should position itself alongside the USA as an independent superpower between the USA and China, especially with regard to the Taiwan conflict. The chancellor’s recent words come across as a slap in the face.
Macron will not forget that
It is true that Scholz could also be credited with the fact that the French President’s solo effort, as mentioned, was in fact of little help. Nevertheless: Macron, who has always seen himself as a great European, will probably not forget that anytime soon.
That’s bad for the EU, because both Macron and Scholz should actually know that without each other, the many big ideas that the Chancellor once again formulated for the EU will never become reality. Because Europe needs a functioning Franco-German relationship.
But for Scholz, this is not the only construction site in Europe: It is not only in Brussels and Strasbourg that people have often wondered about the federal government’s going it alone. The “double boom” with which Scholz quickly put together a billion-dollar package to cushion a possible energy crisis last fall caused trouble in many places.
More than manual errors
Other EU states could not afford a similar aid program for their own people, for their domestic industry – and at the time it was Scholz who showed no interest in informing his EU partners about the German plans in advance. Another example: arms deliveries to Ukraine. The chancellor’s hesitant attitude cost Germany a great deal of confidence in numerous Eastern European countries.
All in all, Scholz’s EU policy is unconvincing and inconsistent. The federal government makes technical mistakes, sometimes negligently alienating the heads of other EU countries.
Anyone who keeps talking about eye level and respect should pay particular attention to this when talking to their closest allies. Things rarely work at EU level unless all states are involved in the decisions. Angela Merkel knew that. With Olaf Scholz, this insight apparently still has to mature.
