Archive Detail

Speaker:
Fabian Tigges

Fabian Tigges (AG Leuffen) presenting his working paper "Continuity and Change in Germany's Preferences Towards EU Fiscal Policy: 2017-2021" online via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/94746679206 

Abstract: 

This article evaluates Chancellor Angela Merkel’s European policy legacy. Her final term in office was marked by a significant policy shift, namely the decision to support the 750 billion Euro COVID-19 recovery fund “Next Generation EU”. Has this decision revealed a paradigmatic change in Germany’s EU fiscal policy stance or did we observe yet another case of Merkel’s pragmatic management to react to the plethora of crises which have shaken the EU during these last years? We argue that while the recovery fund indeed goes beyond decisions taken during the Eurozone crisis, it reflects nevertheless  Merkel’s “conservational pragmatic” leadership style. An analysis of Bundestag debates highlights that Merkel’s CDU/CSU group justified support for these far-ranging measures by underlining i) that these measures were exceptional and only designed for the COVID situation, ii) that COVID posed an external threat and those in need were thus deserving and iii) that support would be indispensable for protecting the survival of the European Union. An analysis of the latest Bundestag election manifestos highlights that the CDU/CSU is back to normal and that there is very little evidence of programmatic EU entrepreneurship – in contrast to other parties such as the Greens and the Liberals. In sum, the article highlights the pragmatic, but programmatically limited European leadership exerted by Chancellor Merkel in line with her party group in the Bundestag.