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German EU Council Presidency: Michael Roth's one-man show

2020-10-19T22:37:01.930Z


Because of the strict Corona travel rules, a German Minister of State holds the position in Brussels and is responsible for everything. How is he doing?


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Representative Roth: "Unique opportunity"

Photo: 

Francisco Seco / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock

First pass the ushers on the right, then through the door on the left and finally down to row one.

Michael Roth puts his backpack on the bench behind him.

He is supposed to talk about the fraud scandal involving the financial services provider Wirecard, but hardly anyone in Brussels is interested in this Wednesday afternoon at the beginning of October.

The Finnish Vice-President and a couple of interpreters are there.

Otherwise the rows are as good as empty.

"It's not easy to get the mood here," sighs Roth.

No politician in the German government appears more often in the EU capital than the European Minister of State from the Foreign Office.

Regardless of whether it is about the corona rules in the EU, about a new advance in the transparency provisions for the EU institutions or about the conflict between Greece and Turkey in the Mediterranean - Michael Roth, 50 (SPD), has to work.

He is the voice of Germany in Brussels, and is mostly the only visible representative of the EU Council Presidency, which will remain in German hands until the end of the year.

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Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-10-19

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