In a speech at Charles University in Prague on Monday 29 August, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for an enlarged Europe that defends its fundamental values both against the bellicose authoritarianism currently raging on its borders and against the ‘illiberal’ democracies within it, and for a Europe capable of innovating to master the technologies of tomorrow.
Noting that the European Union was born as a peace project for the European continent, Mr Scholz described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as “an attack on the security order of Europe” which required Europeans to act to strengthen their own security within NATO, while the transatlantic partnership remained “irreplaceable”.
In concrete terms, economic, humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine should last “as long as necessary”, Mr Scholz said, pointing to the fundamental shift in the German government’s approach, which, a few days after the start of the Russian invasion at the end of February, announced a €100 billion euro investment in defence. On this matter, the Chancellor called for better planning and coordination at European level in this field, with, in particular, the creation of a specific ‘Defence’ Council, advance planning between Member States wishing to move more quickly on concrete military projects and, in the medium term, the creation of “European headquarters”.
As for reducing energy dependence on Russian hydrocarbons, Scholz expressed Germany’s appreciation for the solidarity of its partners in setting targets for reducing gas consumption. He pledged that Berlin is acting in this spirit by forging partnerships to diversify LNG supplies while keeping in mind the needs of countries without access to sea terminals, “such as the Czech Republic”.
Enlargement. The German Social Democrat reaffirmed the German position in favour of EU enlargement to “thirty or thirty-six” members, including the Western Balkan countries, Ukraine, Moldova and even Georgia. He welcomed the French proposal to set up a “European Political Community” (see EUROPE 12979/4) to foster regular political dialogue between European leaders, although he did not believe that this forum should be an alternative to enlargement.
In order to welcome new countries into the EU, the EU must start a process of internal reform now, said Scholz, who is open to a revision of the European treaties. He advocated a shift from unanimity to qualified majority of Member States to adopt European sanctions and also in the field of taxation.
Not moving to qualified majority voting in the EU Council would increase disparities, “with a jungle of different rules and complicated opt-ins and opt-outs”, he stressed. Worse, he warned, a “confusing tangle” like this would be “an invitation to all those who want to bet against a united geopolitical Europe and play us off against each other”.
The Chancellor also floated the idea of reforming the European College of Commissioners, with one member per Member State, but with Commissioners working in pairs to oversee the work of the same Directorate-General. With enlargement, a new balance in the composition of the Parliament will also have to be found so that it does not become “overcrowded”.
Sovereignty. On the economic front, Scholz wants the EU to lead the way in developing key technologies, citing semiconductors and energy infrastructure. He called for a ‘Made in EUROPE 2030’ strategy that would give a strong focus to the circular economy, especially in the recycling of rare metals. He said that Europe, whose prosperity is based on trade, must also remain open to trade with “an ambitious trade agenda” and set up legal migration channels to address labour shortages in the EU.
On the other hand, the German Chancellor has shown some flexibility on the budgetary issue. Praising the “pragmatism” that had made it possible to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic in a united way and to finance the economic recovery through a common EU debt, he called for a reform of the European economic governance framework that would be “binding, facilitate growth and be politically marketable”, notably on how to reduce public debt.
At the beginning of August, the German authorities put forward proposals for the revision of the European fiscal rules, which include an end to the ‘1/20th’ rule imposing a rate of reduction of public debt.
See the German proposals: https://aeur.eu/f/2uu
And Mr Scholz added: “Something fundamental is at stake here. It is about giving citizens the certainty that our currency is secure and irreversible, that they can rely on their states and the EU even in times of crisis”.
Concerned about the emergence of the notion of ‘illiberal’ democracy, Scholz supported the European Commission's action to enforce the rule of law in the EU. All existing instruments in this area should be used, both the ‘Article 7’ procedure and the regulation making the granting of EU funds conditional on respect for the rule of law, he stressed.
“We should give the Commission a new way of launching infringement procedures” in this area, Scholz insisted, without elaborating.
See Mr Scholz’s speech in German (https://aeur.eu/f/2v0 ) and in English (https://aeur.eu/f/2v1 ). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)