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For the past decade and a half, the European Union has been able to count on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to save the day. But between the coronavirus pandemic, endless Brexit negotiations, the issue of migration, and geopolitical tensions in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean, even Germany’s Iron Lady was a bit overwhelmed by the situation now that Germany was in the loop. rotating presidency. of the Council of the European Union. Many of these issues are collapsing on the European Council table Thursday and Friday, at the scheduled end of the year meeting, Politico writes.
One of them was resolved to the limit on Thursday night, when the president of the European Council announced that a compromise had been reached to save the budget and the post-Covid reconstruction fund.
But the reconciliation of Poland and Hungary by the EU does not solve all the problems; other sensitive issues, especially the modernization of migration and asylum policy, which some believed and hoped would be resolved during the German presidency, did not even reach. on the summit agenda.
Some European officials say they cannot imagine how the European Union would have fared if any other country had held the presidency of the Council of the European Union in this turbulent half year: the political challenges of this German presidency were the equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest.
Immigration reform
“Migration is one of the most sensitive political issues in Europe. It is destroying countries both nationally and internationally. Now we have a very good package on the table, but it is normal that this discussion takes time. Germany was very ambitious, but it was almost impossible to reach an agreement during his presidency, especially in the context of all these problems that came together. Even when you have a lot of political capital, you have to use it properly when you have so many sensitive files on the table, “says an EU diplomat about the turbulent period of the German presidency.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer says he expected widespread political agreement on migration, but the worsening pandemic in the fall forced Berlin to change the way it works in online video conferencing, making it impossible to reach an agreement. .
Balkan blockade
The start of negotiations for the accession of North Macedonia and Albania, another goal assumed by the German presidency, has also been postponed. It will be inherited by the Portuguese presidency, which begins on January 1.
The start of the talks was blocked by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, one of Merkel’s traditional allies. Bulgaria’s opposition was motivated by the historical and linguistic dispute over the identity of North Macedonia. Some might say that Merkel’s inability to convince Borisov was due to her entering the last year of her term, and her influence is waning for this reason.
Endless Brexit
As for the post-Brexit trade deal, the German Chancellor had little chance of getting involved in the search for a solution, especially in the context in which not even Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, at an emergency meeting in Brussels, could to find a minimum compromise – “If we don’t have a trade deal, it’s not for Germany but for the UK,” said a European diplomat.
The German presidency, despite all difficulties, will be considered historic above all due to the fact that during it the July agreement was finalized, adopting the 2021-2027 budget, but also the economic recovery fund, unprecedented steps for a better fiscal integration of the European Union.
Publisher: Adrian Dumitru
