Is Germany still a EU-ropean power?

All eyes have been on Germany’s role in the euro crisis. Judgements differ on the degree of solidarity and leadership that it has shown in this crisis; serious criticisms are certainly merited of its stubborn insistence on harsh fiscal stringency. Few question the fact that on economic matters it is now the undisputedly dominant player. However, a question of equal significance is the fact that Germany’s new economic power has not translated into leadership of Europe’s common foreign policy interests but rather into an instrumental focus on narrow, national geo-economic interests.

Being the world’s fourth largest economic power and the second largest in terms of exports has not led to any greater effort to correct Germany’s low profile in foreign policy. Absent a discernible German foreign policy, economic
interests are now the dominant paradigm in the country’s external relations. The political weight of foreign minister Guido Westerwelle and of his liberal party is shrinking. If elections were held today, polls suggest that the German Liberal Party (FDP) would gain less than 2 per cent of the vote. Although Chancellor Angela Merkel has reluctantly assumed a pivotal role in the Euro-crisis, the German abstention on Libya and the lack of a clear voice on other global issues expose an uncertain international profile.

This is as potentially damaging to the European Union (EU) as Germany’s fixation with deficit reduction in internal economic policy.