Amid dramatic shifts caused by Russia’s war of aggression, Germany is getting a lot of flak for dragging its feet and acting too slowly. The Scholz government is risking its leadership role in Europe.
The German government needs to do more to address the growing repression in China. Chancellor Olaf Scholz should extend and deepen current efforts to raise the price for serious human rights violations.
The upcoming meeting of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) near Paris offers the chance to forge a Euro-Atlantic Operating System for democratic technology governance.
Once again, Chancellor Olaf Scholz only moved after the pressure got too high. His smaller coalition partners are now in a good position to drive government policy.
The French still enjoy a comparably solid social safety net. Looking closely at Emmanuel Macron's victory, it was this welfare state that helped him get reelected. And it makes the upcoming pension reform all the more challenging.
There was no alternative for Germany to buying gas from Vladimir Putin, until there was. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reminded policymakers in Berlin that emergency action in the energy sector is possible.
The rules say politics has no place in the Eurovision Song Contest. But for the past 20 years messages protesting Russia's actions have snuck in, and it may be impossible to keep them out of this week’s contest.
The United States, Europe, and their global partners need to design a broad and well-coordinated strategy against the regime in Moscow in order to thwart Vladimir Putin’s ambitions now and in the future.
The only way to regain security in Europe is for Vladimir Putin’s rule over Russia to end. The prosecution of Slobodan Milošević as a war criminal may point to a possible solution.
This year is shaping up to be a pendulum year—a moment in history when the big formative forces of world affairs reverse direction. There are telling parallels with the year 2001. Europe, however, needs to draw the right lessons.
Even if China’s pro-Moscow stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not set in stone, it cannot be without consequences for Germany’s new China strategy.
China’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows that this war is not just a European crisis. It’s no longer possible to consider Europe and the Indo-Pacific as two separate, siloed theaters.
Germany’s recent achievements in taking the EU forward are considerable and laudable, but insufficient. Berlin must now put as much effort into making Europe count on the world stage.
Berlin needs to improve its decision-making processes, and that means repairing its creaky foreign policy set-up—a contribution to the debate about a German National Security Council.
No matter who succeeds Angela Merkel in the chancellery, Germany will need to focus on building stronger European strategic autonomy in order to be a strong and valued partner to the United States—and to other liberal democracies around the world.
