The
endurance of a political order cannot be permanently measured in the absence of
any instrument, neither can it be substantially responded to at any given point
and time. Similarly, the collapse of a system does not require any clear or
prolonged warning. The world has experienced a relatively stable bi-polar
system for several decades in the post-Cold War era, gradually replaced by the
US dominated neoliberal post-Cold War era which is now being succeeded by a
multi-polar world. This is accompanied with shifting alignments.
In the same
vein, the debates at the 2020 Munich Security Conference (MSC) provided
new insights into the shifts currently underway within the EU.In the
most expansive sense of that term: ‘Westlessness’ reigned throughout the MSC
despite the fact that it had played a vital role in world affairs after World
War II. Earlier, marking the seventy fifth anniversary of the end of the World
War II,
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany, warned that the erosion
of international cooperation was evident in the US’s growing interest in Asia
at the expense of its transatlantic relations. Will Europe come up more
integrated in this shifted paradigm? How would a more sovereign Europe become a
better partner to a more socially equal United States on global problems? The technological giants have also disrupted
major economies, societies, and political systems.
Historically,
Germany as a core EU country has been the largest and most successful
economy with a gdp of almost $4 trillion under Angela Merkel, since
2005. Germany sends the most members to the European Parliament. It has
efficaciously maintained stability during the euro crisis, the Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine in
2014 and her open-door policy of 2015, in which over 1 million refugees were
given shelter in Germany, was built on those premises. Germany provided an
example of how to deal with a difficult past.
However, using the legacy of the
Holocaust, Germany has craftily absolved itself from the responsibility of
security, defense, and leadership precisely. Will it continue to be the same in
the post-Brexit paradigm? Steinmeier warned that, “if the European project
fails, the lessons of
German
history will be
called into question.”
Within
Germany, the ever-growing popularity of the far-right, anti-immigration, and
anti-Semitic Alternative for Germany (AfD) has remained increasingly cumbersome
for Angela Merkel. It is creating a leadership crisis for Germany. On February 10, 2020, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer,
as Merkel’s designated successor has also resigned as a leader of the governing
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. This leadership crisis has emerged at
xenophobic times of nationalism and populism espoused with the state of anomie,
in Europe. The strains in the transatlantic relations and the rise in China’s
global role have afflicted this specter further afield.
Speaking
pronouncedly, the French President Emmanuel Macron also talks about
the need for a more integrated Europe by exercising
responsibility for Europe’s future. “This united Europe will only
survive if we regard it as the most concrete repository for German
responsibility . . . of all the dangers I sense facing Germany, I see none
greater than that our German narrative of the future dispenses with the united
Europe, whether as a result of a lack of insight, because of indifference, or
in some people’s eyes even through intent.”
The panacea
lies in strengthening European
security and defense policy as suggested by Steinmeier. He however,
distinctively speculated that it would be opposed by the Central and Eastern
Europeans. Besides, the fear is that Europe is no longer relevant for the US in
great power competition. “Only a Europe that can and wants to protect itself
credibly will be able to keep the U.S. in the alliance,” was a major concern of Steinmeier.
Already,
the “Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security
Policy” presented by HR/VP Mogherini in June 2016, had laid down the
foundations for a comprehensive package of measures in the areas of security
and defence. It consists of three major pillars:
a) New
political goals and ambitions for Europeans to take more responsibility for
their own security and defence.
B) New
financial tools to help Member States and the European defence industry to
develop defence capabilities (“European Defence Action Plan”).
C) Set of
concrete actions as a follow up to the EU-NATO Joint Declaration while
identifying areas of cooperation.
Note EU-Digest: The EU membership states who are calling for a more populist and nationalistic approach must stop kidding themselves that leaving the EU can provide them even with the slightest hope of independent survival, in the world of political and economic Power Blocs. They will be eaten alive and forced to swallow the worst possible demands, as they negotiate trade agreements with power blocs like the US or China.
Read the complete report at: ‘Westlessness’: Shaping Anew the EU’s Power - Modern Diplomacy
