– We are ready to act and make a government in Germany, which will be 1 of the strongest supporters of European integration you have always seen from my country, promised Friedrich Merz his European organization colleagues during a speech in Valencia.
At the Conservative legislature of the European People's organization (EPP) at the beginning of last week Merz gave a taste of his European policy: strengthening European unity and defence capacity, supporting fresh free trade agreements, adapting climate protection and competitiveness, and reducing the number of migrants arriving in Europe.
More German leadership in the EU
As Friedrich Merz stressed, many have wanted more German leadership in the EU and internationally in fresh years, so he wants to launch fresh initiatives and invest more energy in the improvement of the European Union.
According to Rafael Loss, a political scientist from the European abroad Affairs Council (ECFR) in Berlin, no 1 at European level wants Germany, as the country with the largest population and the largest economy in the EU, to play its central position and effort to force their interests. Instead, Germany is expected to have unifying impulses that have a balancing effect in the EU and make the voices of smaller associate States heard.
A strong Europe in the field of defence
In the field of defence, Europe must talk with 1 voice "primarily by organising our defence in a much more effective way, which will rise our defence capabilities to a fresh level," said Friedrich Merz. To accomplish this, you request to be "pragmatic" in common military procurement and the improvement of common defence projects.
This should mostly be done within NATO. But Europeans must be able to defend themselves better than in the past. "This is not optional, it is only a prerequisite for preserving freedom and peace on the European continent," said Merz.
In light of the Russian attack on Ukraine and the clear signals from Washington that Europe needs to do more for its defence, the European Commission has late presented a fresh defence strategy and plans on how to finance European weapons. These plans must now be implemented.
On election day to the Bundestag, Merz went further, saying that "the absolute priority" was to strengthen Europe so that it would become independent of the US step by step.
German-French motorcycle?
These words most likely appealed to French president Emmanuel Macron. It is to the capital of France that Merz will go on his first visit as the fresh Chancellor of Germany (and then, on the same day, he will go to Warsaw). Relations between Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merzem are besides crucial for the EU.
Germany and France are inactive the 2 largest powers of the EU, despite the fresh agreement in east Europe, as indicated by Paul Maurice, Secretary-General of the French-German Relations Studies Committee at the French Institute of global Relations (IFRI). This is due in peculiar to their importance for economical and defence policy.
French president Emmanuel Macron hopes that in Friedrich Merzu he will find a partner to implement his strategical autonomy project," Maurice says in an interview with DW. The French president understands this as making Europe more sovereign and independent from another countries, not only in terms of defence, but besides in terms of natural materials, technology and energy.
A fresh impetus for the EU
Maurice expects a fresh impetus for the EU from Germany and France, peculiarly in energy and defence policies. The erstwhile was a point of dispute between France and Germany for the Scholz government, which included the Greens. Now, with a fresh coalition of chade and social democracy, things will become easier – Paul Maurice believes.
Political scientist Rafael failure besides expects the issue of European atomic deterrence to be discussed between France and Germany in the future. While erstwhile governments ruled out specified a public discussion, pointing to the existing American defence shield, Friedrich Merz announced that he wanted to discuss this issue with the French President.
Although both Maurice and failure anticipate French-German relations to improve under Merza, there are areas where France and Germany present different positions. This includes the France-rejected Mercosur Free Trade Agreement, which Germany wants, or Eurobonds, or the EU's collective debt to finance defence spending (France is in favour, Germany is against).
Plans for Poland
In the coalition agreement the CDU, CSU and Social Democracy SPD Poland was listed 3 times. Poland is mentioned primarily in the context of abroad cooperation: "We besides want to further make relationship with our east neighbour, Poland. In the Weimar Triangle, we will search close coordination on all applicable issues of European policy, so that we can act more unanimously in the service of the full EU," we read.
The agreement besides mentions the plan of the monument – the memorial site of the Polish victims of the 3rd Reich, initiated by the government of Angela Merkel: "We want to strengthen the fund of the future with the Czech Republic, Greece and Italy and the Polish-German Cooperation Foundation. We want to rapidly make a memorial site for victims of German aggression and business in Poland (1939-1945) at the erstwhile Kroll Opera Square and to build the Polish-German home as a memorial and gathering place in the centre of Berlin. In order to advance cross-border learning and European friendships, we will support European and bilateral youth projects, as well as grow and importantly strengthen European global exchanges of young and skilled workers."
In the "Movement" chapter, the fresh coalition announces the improvement of connections with Poland, among others: "Central parts of transport infrastructure to Poland and the Czech Republic will be rapidly developed. To this end, we will supply planning and financing law. European long-distance trains will be implemented, providing better connections to all our neighbours."
Repair of relations with Poland
Friedrich Merz talks about repairing his relation with Poland for a long time. “My government will end the silence between Berlin and Warsaw on the first day. We will treat our partners in the East with respect, and given our diverse history, besides with empathy – he argued even before the parliamentary elections.
The journey to Paris and Warsaw on the same day – on 7 May, just after taking up government – can already be considered symbolic for these plans. Cooperation between Merze and Prime Minister Donald Tuski is besides expected to facilitate "better chemistry" than in the case of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Merz and Tusk come from politically akin parties, but, as experts note, it will find whether they will see each another as useful for developing the proposed solutions. They stress that Polish-German cooperation on safety and defence matters will be peculiarly needed, especially in the face of the uncertainty that Donald Trump's administration is sowing.
In turn, the conflict possible has, among another things, the proposed by Merz and his future government to limit irregular migration to Germany, including the return and return of migrants to another countries. all decision Warsaw sends warnings to Merz about tightening border control – and specified a squad of future Chancellor announced "from the first day of office".
Brussels awaits the German government
Brussels is besides waiting for a fresh German government. The first precedence for Germany is to fill the void left by the collapse of the erstwhile government. The erstwhile coalition of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberal FDP broke up the day after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. According to an interview with DW Rafael Loss, Brussels had to face the fact that Germany was not "able to speak" with many crucial decisions, especially in the area of European defence capabilities.
Brussels besides expects the alleged "German Vote" to be a past in the Merza government. In Brussels, this is simply a symbol of the European policy of the erstwhile government and describes the abstaining, sometimes in a short time, from voting on EU government due to disagreements between coalition partners.
As far as migration is concerned, it is questionable to what degree Friedrich Merz sees this issue as "the ambition of European policy" and whether he is willing to push his ideas against the European legal framework if necessary. another issues that will address both Berlin and Brussels in the coming period include the consequence to US customs policy and trade with China.
