On some days recently, it has looked
like it might be lost. But that is to underestimate the deep German
commitment to the success of European integration based on the rule of
law.
If the European Union
falls apart, it will likely be due to a return of nationalism and a
refusal by the French, British and Dutch to share more sovereignty,
rather than to German insistence on fiscal discipline and respect for
the rules.
"If the euro fails, then Europe fails," Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly warned parliament.
The aftermath of the euro zone's ugly all-night summit on the Greek debt crisis that ended on July 13 with a deal on stringent, intrusive terms for negotiating a third bailout has sent shockwaves across Europe, especially in Germany.
It was the second time in weeks that EU leaders had clashed over fundamental problems they seem unable to solve, after an acrimonious June summit on how to cope with a wave of migrants - many of them refugees from conflict - desperate to enter Europe.
And it has prompted intensive head-scratching in Berlin about how to strengthen European institutions and underpin the euro more durably - an intellectual ferment unmatched in most other EU capitals.
"When you tour European countries, there aren't many that are thinking as hard as Germany about how to make an integrated Europe work better," says a senior German official.
Perhaps due to its World War Two history, Berlin is more open than most EU nations to offering shelter to war victims and accepted the largest quota of asylum seekers.
Nor was Merkel as tough as creditors such as Finland, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia in insisting on humiliating conditions for any further assistance to Greece.
Yet like all leaders, Germany cops most of the blame. And due to its past, that is often laced with references to the Nazi tyranny that make present-day Germans cringe.
That outcry was compounded when German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble breached a taboo by suggesting that Greece should leave the euro zone, at least temporarily, if it could not meet the conditions.
After decades of trying to be an unobtrusive team player in Europe or co-steering integration through the Franco-German tandem, Berlin was catapulted into an unwelcome solo leadership role by the euro zone debt crisis that began in 2010.
That extra burden of responsibility, due more to French weakness and British indifference than Teutonic ambition, has weighed heavily on Germans who fear it means others trying to pick their pockets without doing their own fair share.
 |
| German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble attend the session of Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, July 17, 2015. |
"If the euro fails, then Europe fails," Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly warned parliament.
The aftermath of the euro zone's ugly all-night summit on the Greek debt crisis that ended on July 13 with a deal on stringent, intrusive terms for negotiating a third bailout has sent shockwaves across Europe, especially in Germany.
It was the second time in weeks that EU leaders had clashed over fundamental problems they seem unable to solve, after an acrimonious June summit on how to cope with a wave of migrants - many of them refugees from conflict - desperate to enter Europe.
And it has prompted intensive head-scratching in Berlin about how to strengthen European institutions and underpin the euro more durably - an intellectual ferment unmatched in most other EU capitals.
"When you tour European countries, there aren't many that are thinking as hard as Germany about how to make an integrated Europe work better," says a senior German official.
Perhaps due to its World War Two history, Berlin is more open than most EU nations to offering shelter to war victims and accepted the largest quota of asylum seekers.
Nor was Merkel as tough as creditors such as Finland, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia in insisting on humiliating conditions for any further assistance to Greece.
Yet like all leaders, Germany cops most of the blame. And due to its past, that is often laced with references to the Nazi tyranny that make present-day Germans cringe.
That outcry was compounded when German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble breached a taboo by suggesting that Greece should leave the euro zone, at least temporarily, if it could not meet the conditions.
After decades of trying to be an unobtrusive team player in Europe or co-steering integration through the Franco-German tandem, Berlin was catapulted into an unwelcome solo leadership role by the euro zone debt crisis that began in 2010.
That extra burden of responsibility, due more to French weakness and British indifference than Teutonic ambition, has weighed heavily on Germans who fear it means others trying to pick their pockets without doing their own fair share.
No comments:
Post a Comment