On 9 May, Europe Day, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered his speech on the vision of the future of the EU at the European Parliament. Significantly, on the day when we remember the historic moment of the statement by Robert Schuman – one of the founding fathers of the EU, today a candidate for the altars – the German chancellor, known for wanting to subordinate the Community to German interests, spoke about the future of the EU. In his speech he spoke of the fact that the Union should be united in diversity, but at the same time he stressed that its future lies in even greater unification, ie progressive federalization under the hegemony of Germany. So what should the EU look like according to Scholz? With institutions usurping powers that are not theirs, devoid of unanimity on important issues such as foreign policy, security and taxation, and climate neutral.
What we heard from the mouth of the German Chancellor in the EP is not surprising. On important points he presented the same point of view that we already know from his lecture at Charles University in Prague. His speech brought nothing new to the debate on EU reform.
Scholz probably did not expect his speech to be criticized by MEPs from almost all political factions, especially German politicians, including the head of the EPP, Manfred Weber, who simply said that “we don’t need any more policy speeches”. Terry Reintke, co-chairman of the European Greens, who form a coalition with the SPD in Germany, referred even more bluntly to Scholz’s words. “The image of you as chancellor proposing solutions has unfortunately faded in recent months,” the German politician noted.
So according to Scholz, the future of the EU is its gradual federalization, and while these words were not literally spoken, how else can we understand the claim that the more united the EU is, the better the future? The Union in Scholz’s view must be reformed, led by its EU institutions, ie the EP, but above all the European Commission. In this context, Scholz called for equipping the Commission with even stronger tools to implement the infringement procedure when the rule of law and democratic values are violated. He added not only who would judge this state of affairs. Looking at the EC’s current practices towards Poland and Hungary, it is clear that the EC often uses this tool as a form of pressure on democratically elected governments, and its actions have nothing to do with the rule of law. Similar to the jurisprudence of the CJEU. Nevertheless, Scholz wants to increase the powers of the European Commission and announced that he would fight for this.
The Scholz Union is also a Union that speaks with one voice. What does this mean in practice? Unanimous resignation on matters of critical importance to the EU. Scholz listed here foreign policy, security and taxation. The foreign policy imposed by Germany was brutally demonstrated by the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the energy crisis facing the entire EU. The policy of making the EU’s energy supply dependent on the supply of raw materials from Russia has become a symbol of Berlin’s submissive policy towards Moscow. But ironically, as Scholz tried to argue, doing away with unanimity would better protect member states’ interests. According to this line of thinking, member states would abolish the veto, and with it the safety valve to safeguard their vital interests, and in return would have to count on forming a majority coalition, failing which they would be at the mercy of the grace of German.
Scholz also called for the adoption of a new asylum policy before the next EP elections, pointing out that the EU must move towards a climate-neutral Europe and set an example for the world.
However, it is worth noting that some of his words in Strasbourg sound grotesque to say the least compared to the facts. Scholz said, among other things, that the EU reacted unitedly and in solidarity to the outbreak of war in Ukraine. We all remember that it was none other than Scholz who torpedoed various types of EU decisions when it came to aid to Ukraine, the infamous symbol of which was the handover of 5,000. old german helmets. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s visit cost Germany’s conscience to realize that now is not the time for concrete selfishness. It is also worth recalling the German resistance during the arduous process of negotiating subsequent packages of EU sanctions imposed on Russia, or during the decision to send Leopard tanks. In this context, Scholz’s words about the EU’s united response to the war in Ukraine sound grotesque, to say the least.
The concept of EU development presented by Scholz has been widely criticized, and so Germany’s leadership in EU policy has been criticized, including for the lack of a rapid response to the war in Ukraine, as well as the previous policy of closer relations with Russia. Scholz’s leadership as German chancellor was also undermined.
The pinnacle of the insolence was also Scholz’s own Twitter entry, in which he thanked that “78 years ago Germany and the world were liberated from the tyranny of National Socialism.” This is another example of German arrogance and arrogance, as well as attempts to rewrite European history. First they said it was the Nazis who killed during World War II, not the Germans, and now the German Chancellor is thanking you for liberating the tyranny of National Socialism that originated in Germany. This is yet another stage of shifting German responsibility for the outbreak and crimes of World War II, for which they have not yet settled and paid reparations to Poland. Unfortunately, we have not heard a word about that in Strasbourg.
Source: wPolityce