Shortly before Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave his second major speech on Europe, leading German members of the European Parliament sharply criticized the German government’s course on European policy to date. The CSU deputy and EPP boss Manfred Weber accused the traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP of often not having a “clear and coordinated position” on important issues. “With the confusion in the debate on combustion engines, the traffic light has lost its credibility at the negotiating table,” he told the German Press Agency shortly before Scholz’s speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The left-wing parliamentary group leader Martin Schirdewan and even MEPs who belong to governing parties were similarly critical. Green group leader Terry Reintke said that many Eastern and Central European colleagues in the European Parliament were disappointed with what Scholz had done in relation to Ukraine. The perception was “that everything came very slowly and it actually had to be wrested from Berlin again and again”.
Demand for a clear agenda
There is now hope that the “sober Hamburger” Scholz will go into the speech today with a very clear catalog of demands and an agenda, despite his other positioning. This will be very central to the question of what role the Federal Republic of Germany will play in the European Union in the coming months, said Reintke.
Left-wing politician Schirdewan accused the federal government of attracting attention primarily with quarrels in European politics. Like Weber and Reintke, he also cited the weeks-long blockade by the federal government in the dispute over cars with internal combustion engines as an example. In it, the FDP in particular had demanded that the EU Commission submit a proposal on how vehicles that are exclusively operated with CO2-neutral fuels can be approved after 2035. Actually, negotiators from the EU states and the European Parliament had already agreed for months on an extensive end to combustion engines from 2035.
Debate on dealing with China
The CSU politician Weber also explicitly criticized the federal government’s China policy and demanded a clear commitment from Scholz to a uniform European course. “The lesson from the mistakes in dealing with the Russian leadership must be that we can only assert ourselves against China together and in close coordination with our western partners,” said the chairman and group leader of the European People’s Party (EPP). Going it alone in dealing with the Chinese leadership is counterproductive and harms Europe. Today’s speech is an opportunity for Scholz to “repair some of the damage done”.
The SPD politician’s speech in Strasbourg will be the tenth part of the “This is Europe” debate series. In it, the heads of state and government of the member states present their views and solutions to the challenges facing Europe before the European Parliament. In April, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel was a guest in Strasbourg.
Speech on Europe Day
Scholz held his first major Europe speech as Chancellor in August 2022 at Charles University in Prague. In it he spoke out in favor of far-reaching reforms to make the EU fit for the admission of further members: simpler decision-making processes, a crisis-proof asylum system and closer cooperation in the areas of armaments and defense.
Today’s speech is likely to be about the EU’s role in the world. The date was chosen with care. 9 May is Europe Day, which commemorates the Schuman Plan to create a European Coal and Steel Community. This was presented to the public on May 9, 1950 by the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman in Paris and was intended to secure peace in Europe after the Second World War. The plan led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, one of the forerunners of today’s European Union.
