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Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris and Brussels: Quiet in Europe

2021-12-10T22:56:12.625Z


Macron, von der Leyen, Stoltenberg, Michel: The new Federal Chancellor had many important appointments in Paris and Brussels. Olaf Scholz avoided making clear statements. Is that also possible on Sunday in Warsaw?


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Chancellor Scholz, President Macron: Conflicts only in nuances

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IAN LANGSDON / EPA

The Chancellor flies off in the snowstorm in Berlin, lands in the winter sun of Paris, climbs out of the Airbus A340 "Theodor Heuss" in a blue suit, the only one without a coat, it goes straight on in the S-Class to the Élysée Palace, where French President Emmanuel Macron is already waiting for him.

Europe in twelve hours, the traditional first inauguration of a German head of government in Paris, then on to the heart of the EU, to Brussels, visits to the European Commission, the European Council and NATO, on the agenda a wide range of topics, from the future of Europe Fiscal policy on the boycott question at the Olympic Games in China to the Ukraine crisis: Olaf Scholz missed a tight program on his first trip abroad as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, penned between the Prime Minister's Conference on Thursday and the SPD party conference on Saturday.

A very quiet chancellor appears on the world stage, in Paris he can hardly be understood, but that is also the hallmark of his politics from the first days.

Defensive, observant, as openly as possible in gestures, as vague as possible in words.

Olaf Scholz is a chancellor who wants to commit himself as late as possible; it was seen in his dealings with the pandemic.

You know the "dear Olaf"

His advantage: He comes as a representative of a coalition whose strongest commitment is perhaps that for Europe.

The coalition agreement speaks of an EU as a “federal state”, a constitutional convention and amendments to the EU treaties.

"Germany is a very European nation," says Scholz.

And something else helps the new head of government to quickly find his way around his new role in foreign policy: you know him.

Macron speaks of "dear Olaf", and Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President, reminds us that she has already sat with the new Chancellor in two government cabinets.

But despite the much-invoked commonality, conflicts also flash up on this day, albeit in nuances.

Opinions diverge on the question of what the European Stability and Growth Pact should look like in the future and how a common debt policy should be.

He keeps his own opinion to himself

Countries like Italy or France are in favor of a softening of the stability criteria, which are no longer appropriate to the situation. More flexibility in the financial rules is necessary, says Macron now in Paris, in order to cope with the "massive investments" that are necessary to make "Europe greener and more digital". The word "budget discipline" only appears in a subordinate clause.

Scholz emphasizes that both Macron and he were "significantly" involved in the creation of the more than 720 billion euros Corona reconstruction fund, with which the EU wants to mitigate the financial damage of the pandemic. You saw "what is possible," says Scholz. The flexibility offered by the Growth and Stability Pact will continue to be used. He evades the question of whether he is also in favor of changing the stability criteria.

The tone also varies on the question of whether European countries should boycott the Olympic Games in China.

Macron, who had already signaled that he did not think much of a boycott, now specifies that he only meant a general boycott, not a diplomatic one.

Scholz is also much more defensive here.

One is still in the process of coordinating with the European partners.

Scholz keeps his own attitude to himself.

Alleged zest for action, formulated in a flowery way

He proceeds in a similar way with a potentially irritating topic between Paris and Berlin, energy policy.

The EU Commission is expected to declare nuclear power to be a climate-friendly investment in December, at the instigation of France.

The federal government is against it.

When asked about a possible compromise, Scholz responded with a two-minute non-response. Germany wants to expand renewable energies, its electricity needs are increasing, and a stable network is needed. He never even utters the word nuclear power, he touches on the dissent with Paris as tenderly as possible. Other countries are pursuing different goals, says Scholz. "I don't think we're together yet."

The Chancellor and the President, however, largely agree on how to deal with the Ukraine conflict. The inviolability of borders is an irrefutable principle. Diplomatic talks with Russia and Ukraine in the so-called Normandy format, in which Germany and France act as mediators, should be continued. "And we, too, will continue to develop our activities to ensure that Ukraine has good prospects," said the Chancellor.

Again in a low voice, but at least the matter more clearly, he speaks the evening after his meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Security in Europe includes the inviolability of borders, says Scholz.

"We cannot accept the threat to Ukraine's integrity."

Scholz is similar in a joint appearance with EU Council President Charles Michel in Brussels.

One of the "really big issues" is how to make industry climate neutral.

This requires "quick, swift decisions", especially in Germany that requires a "massive acceleration of the approval process," said Scholz.

Difficult appointment in Warsaw

The Chancellor has good reason to be decisive in Brussels, because the expectations of Germany are high - and not infrequently contradicting one another. The green transition, for example, will be expensive, and from the point of view of France and other countries its success also depends on whether Berlin is prepared to loosen the reins of financial policy. Traditionally thrifty countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark or Austria, on the other hand, are more likely to hope that Germany with FDP finance minister Christian Lindner will return to old austerity after the corona crisis at the latest.

Scholz is also in a dilemma when it comes to dealing with the rule of law problems in countries like Poland and Hungary. In particular, the government in Warsaw is giving the rest of the EU a headache: it not only harasses judges and minorities in its own country, but is now calling into question the entire legal system of the EU.

Scholz nevertheless rewards the national-conservative PiS government by placing it in third place after Paris and Brussels on his inaugural visits. The appointment on Sunday in Warsaw will be difficult. As the German Chancellor, Scholz cannot appear instructive, if only for historical reasons. But the increasingly rabid actions of the PiS government and the increasingly shrill anti-German tones do not make things any easier. In Warsaw, for example, publicly funded posters are currently hanging on the walls of buildings showing ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a row with Adolf Hitler and Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. The background to this are Poland's demands for war reparations.

Quiet seems hardly possible in view of the situation.

In the EU, calls for tougher action against rule-of-law offenders are growing louder.

Scholz will also be able to expect pressure from his coalition partners, who are far less conciliatory on the issue than Angela Merkel.

In Berlin as in Brussels, the loudest demands for sanctions come reliably from the Greens and Liberals.

The »German Vote« should be over

But at the European level, a more robust course would not be without risk. The EU Commission is currently holding back the corona development funds for Poland and Hungary. In return, the government in Warsaw is threatening to block the EU in other areas if the money continues to fail. Such sabotage would endanger areas that are also of central importance for Germany, including climate, foreign, security and financial policy. The conflict could escalate even further if, as expected, the Commission should soon activate the new rule of law mechanism in the budget against Poland and cut funding.

Both this and a possible release of the Corona billions would have to be approved by the EU states in the end - and Germany would have to position itself.

Because representatives of the traffic light coalition have recently repeatedly emphasized that what is ridiculed in Brussels as “German Vote” should be over: first talk for a long time and then abstain.

Scholz may have a similar view.

"We are a big country in the middle of the European Union," he says as he stands next to von der Leyen at the Commission's headquarters.

German politics must "feel directly responsible for progress in Europe" - and cannot "send out comments on European politics from the margins".

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-12-10

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