Bulletin of the Institute for Western Affairs, ed. 578: Old Priorities, New Cabinet: Germany’s Unchanged Policy on the EU

Bulletin of the Institute for Western Affairs, ed. 578: Magdalena Bainczyk „Old Priorities, New Cabinet: Germany’s Unchanged Policy on the EU”

In contrast to Poland, Germany’s policy toward the EU has for decades been shaped by stable consensus among the incumbent parties. This political alignment explains why the “Europe” section of the April 2025 coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and SPD has not triggered fundamental controversy between these parties. Coupled with the strong institutional capacity of the German state, this consensus ensures that these partially cross-party EU policy positions rapidly and with relative effectiveness translate into action within EU institutions. Against the backdrop of what can generally be described as “interesting times” in international politics, it is therefore good news that Germany’s poli-cy on the EU is unlikely to suffer significant upheavals, not at least until the next Bundestag elections. In principle, the path chosen in 1993 appears set to persist, with only limited tweaks. The big question is whether this longterm stability serves the best interests of Germany, Europe in general, and Central Europe in particular.