The European Council on Foreign Relations

Germany and the crisis in figures

Date: 6th July 2012  |  Author: Olaf Boehnke,

Categories: Euro Crisis, Germany in Europe,

In the aftermath of the Eurozone leaders' summit, a number of surveys on the German’s attitudes on the euro crisis were conducted by different institutes.

According to a TNS Infratest survey on behalf of Spiegel Online, Germans are fed-up with the euro crisis. Although they are in favour of giving Brussels more control over national budgets, 54% hardly see any sense in investing billions of euros in the fight for saving the common currency – this opinion holds true for supporters of all major parties with supporters of the Greens still the most optimistic about the future of the euro (64% in favour of attempts to save the euro).

The euro crisis is still viewed as a crisis of the South, despite widespread warnings about how the crisis could damage the German economy, if it is not resolved soon. Despite not yet being affected by the crisis very much, many Germans are afraid of

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We need a more honest EU debate in Germany!

Date: 2nd July 2012  |  Author: Ulrike Guérot,

Categories: Euro Crisis, Germany in Europe,

The dust has settled after the last European Council and it is time to conclude that while the results were mostly positive – the German reaction to the outcome of the summit was appalling. Judging on the mostly very hostile, not to say aggressive German press, one may come to the conclusion that most Germans would agree with the recent New York Times article arguing for a German euro exit. Browsing not only through the German press over the weekend, but, more importantly, through online reactions of German citizens to various articles, you could get the impression that Germany is heading towards a catastrophe.

Merkel was accused of having crossed multiple red lines of sacrosanct German positions. She not only faced criticism from some of her own party members, but also from Green opposition leader Jürgen Trittin and large parts of the SPD. Both urged her to explain and justify her

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Hurray, the banking union is coming!

Date: 27th June 2012  |  Author: Ulrike Guérot,

Categories: Germany in Europe, Reinventing Europe,

The forthcoming European Council is heading with unprecedented speed towards a banking union and historians may remember this as the turning point of the Euro crisis. The question is what kind of integration and how quickly it can be achieved. Proposals range from hybrid structures to a full integration of European banks and a common European deposit scheme.

As the EU Commission memo on banking union states: “The European banking union is not a new legal instrument yet. It is a political vision for more EU integration, which will build on recent major steps to strengthen the regulation of the banking sector and go further.”

The next EU summit could be a moment where political dreams come true, e.g. one of a European treasury with a Finance Minister, overseeing European banking policy, as advocated by former ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet last year, when he was awarded the

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Do we go that far to save Europe?

Date: 22nd June 2012  |  Author: Ulrike Guérot,

Categories: Euro Crisis, Germany in Europe,

Yes, we do! Germany is putting forward bold plans for a political union. This interim report is the result of a working group of ten like-minded foreign ministers – among them the foreign ministers of France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Austria, Portugal, and the Netherlands – who met a couple of times in recent months. This is interesting in various aspects: first, the initiative gives ownership back to smaller euro countries: Merkozy is over!  Second, Germany is back as the essential agenda setter for the future of the EU and it is opening up the discussion beyond euro rescue umbrellas. The presented plans for more European integration are not only far reaching regarding the Euro (the report includes proposals for a European Monetary Fund (EMF) or a European Treasury) but also touch on sensitive things such as a European Army. It is only a discussion paper, of course, but one of an

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Making austerity less destructive: Don’t count on the German left

Date: 6th June 2012  |  Author: Sebastian Dullien,

Categories: € View, Germany in Europe,

While everyone looks for signals from the French president François Hollande and from the German chancellor Angela Merkel about how a compromise on the fiscal compact might look like, another important negotiation on the future of Europe is largely ignored: The negotiation between Ms Merkel and the German opposition on the fiscal compact.

Little known outside Germany, Ms Merkel will need the votes of the German opposition to ratify the fiscal compact. As the provisions are “a substantial transfer of sovereignty” to the European level, according to the German constitution, Ms Merkel needs a two-third majority in both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat (the chamber which represents the Länder). This brings not only the Social Democrats into play, but also the Green party (which shares power in many Länder with the Social Democrats and is thus needed as Länder governments) the

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