Summer 2021 Issue: Europe after Merkel

Editorial

Henning Hoff

Europe after Merkel

The European Union is in for more troubled times.

What Europe Thinks ...

Isabell Hoffmann

Hardy Schilgen

What Europe Thinks … of the EU at the End of the Merkel Era

The German chancellor leaves behind an European Union whose citizens have faith in the bloc’s potential but are still concerned about its future direction.

Cover Section

Jana Puglierin

The Crisis Manager Departs

Angela Merkel had the advantage that during her 16 years at the helm, Germany was spared the economic and political upheaval many of its neighbors experienced. Her successors may not be so lucky.

Claire Demesmay

In Search of the Next Partner

With Angela Merkel leaving the scene, French President Emmanuel Macron needs to build bridges to her potential successors, and quickly.

Nicoletta Pirozzi

Super Mario

With the former ECB President Mario Draghi at the helm, Italy is finally making a comeback as a major European player.

Miguel Otero-Iglesias

Great Expectations (I): Time for a Südpolitik. A View from Spain

Paying more attention to Spain would be a chance for Germany to advance the EU.

Sławomir Sierakowski

Great Expectations (II): Clearing the Air. A View from Poland

A new government in Berlin that includes the Greens could shake things up with Central and Eastern Europe, ultimately for the better.

Andrea Kendall-Taylor

Carisa Nietsche

The Stakes are High

Angela Merkel’s slow and deliberate approach to issues important to Washington has impeded a transatlantic kick-start.

Berlin Cable

Henning Hoff

Merkel’s Final Act

During her last few weeks in office, the German chancellor seems to be trying to rejig the West.

Pariscope

Joseph de Weck

Defying History

Emmanuel Macron’s chances of securing a second term look good.

Carbon Critical

Noah J. Gordon

Climate Policy Comes Home

All the German parties want credit for raising climate targets. But none wants to be blamed for raising carbon prices to achieve them.

Toward a New German Foreign Policy

Thomas Bagger

“Germany, We Need to Talk”

Debate about what should be done in foreign policy will only find real resonance if Germans understand that this is about their personal future.

The Wider View

Vladislav Inozemtsev

On Sanctioning Russia’s Business Elites

There are serious doubts about not only the effectiveness, but also the rationality for imposing sanctions on the Russian oligarchs.

Quarterly Concerns

Dave Keating

Learning the Tough Lessons of Vaccine Geopolitics

Brussels will not forget the vaccine-hoarding behavior of the EU’s Western allies.