The Germany recently expressed its dissatisfaction with the European Union. Certain opinions were expressed about the improper functioning of certain mechanisms of the Union.
But are such discontents a threat to the EU? Given Germany's focus on Russia at certain times, could it have an idea to leave the Union?
Sebastian Schäffer, director of the Institute for Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) and fellow of the Global Europe Center at the GLOBSEC Policy Institute in Bratislava, told Ednews that such discontent within the EU is normal:
"The German government has no serious plans to leave the EU in the near future. Criticism of Brussels is not unusual. We can see that often all the beneficial aspects of European integration are linked to the efforts of the national government, and everything else falls to the Commission. However, this is not a special moment for Germany, but a practice that has been going on for years in all member states. "Brexit, the pandemic, as well as Russia's war against Ukraine have shown the benefits of the EU and this can be observed in European societies as well."
The expert also emphasized that there are parties within the EU who are trying to destroy the Union:
"Nevertheless, there are parties who want to destroy European integration and the EU. In Germany, it is the far-right, nationalist Alternative Germany (AfD) party that defends it. We can find similar trends in other member states. There are attempts to prepare pan-European cooperation after the next European Parliament elections in June 2024. Whether they will be successful remains to be seen, but this should serve as a wake-up call to countries. What does it mean for every European not to acknowledge all the achievements of integration over the decades?"
In addition, the expert pointed out that in the end there were no discussions about Germany leaving the EU and that such a decision would be wrong:
"In any case, there are no discussions to leave the EU, especially in Germany. No sane politician is honestly advocating for it, as leaving the single market would be economic suicide for Germany, which profits more than any other EU member from it. There is much that can and should be criticized about the EU, but destroying it would endanger our democratic freedom, economic prosperity and peace. The cost of such an act is much higher than any support for the defense of Ukraine against the heinous aggression of the Russian Federation. The German foreign minister's visit to Kiev today shows that the German government is ready to support the country as long as it defends the values that parties like the AfD are trying to destroy.
Akbar Novruz
