Wolfgang Lemb, geschäftsführendes Vorstandsmitglied der IG-Metall, und Philippe Portier, Nationaler Sekretär im Exekutivkomitee der französischen Gewerkschaft CFDT, erörtern in diesem dritten Beitrag der Reihe aktuelle Chancen und Herausforderungen für die „Just Transition“ in Deutschland und Frankreich: Um Strukturbrüche zu vermeiden, müssten die Mittel des Just Transition Fonds deutlich erhöht werden.
Die Soziologen Yann Le Lann und Sabrina Zajak analysieren und vergleichen in diesem Gespräch die Auswirkungen der Corona-Pandemie auf die Klimabewegungen in Frankreich und Deutschland. Den Green Deal der Europäischen Kommission bewerten die Klimabewegungen überwiegend kritisch.
In diesem einführenden Gespräch analysieren Prof. Dr. Patrizia Nanz und Dr. Sébastian Treyer die Auswirkungen der Coronakrise auf die gesellschaftlichen, wirtschaftlichen und politischen Transformationsprozesse für mehr Klimaschutz und zeigen Bedingungen für eine erfolgreiche Steuerung dieser Entwicklungen auf.
Das Papier besteht aus einer Sammlung von zehn Kurzbeiträgen, die zwischen April und September 2020 in einer von der Stiftung Genshagen initiierten Online-Publikationsreihe mit dem Titel “Acting European? The European Union and the Weimar Triangle in the Coronavirus Crisis” veröffentlicht wurden. Ziel der Reihe war es, die politischen Reaktionen und Lösungsansätze zur Bewältigung der langfristigen Auswirkungen der Corona-Pandemie sowohl innerhalb der Länder des Weimarer Dreiecks als auch auf EU-Ebene zu beleuchten.
Hans Kundnani und Michał Kuź werfen in diesem Papier einen ausführlichen Blick auf die Zukunft des Westens in turbulenten weltpolitischen Zeiten. Nach einer Vorstellung verschiedener Konzepte des „Westens“ untersuchen sie die innere und äußere Dimension der Krise, welche die westliche Wertegemeinschaft ihrer Ansicht nach gegenwärtig durchläuft. Die drei Staaten des Weimarer Dreiecks spiegelten in ihren Beziehungen untereinander einige der Konfliktlinien dieser Krise wider. Nur wenn es Deutschland, Frankreich und Polen gelänge, ihre Differenzen beizulegen, könne das Weimarer Dreieck einer drohenden Fragmentierung des Westens, die von den Autoren als mögliches Zukunftsszenario gesehen wird, entgegenwirken.
After a bumpy start, the EU has drawn up a comprehensive response to the global Covid-19 pandemic by activating multilateral forums and providing assistance to third countries in need. If EU decision-makers can avoid the instinct of withdrawal that occurred during the sovereign debt crisis a decade ago, the coronavirus crisis also offers an opportunity for the Union to enhance its support for its neighbourhood and the Global South and, in so doing, to increase its global standing in a new geopolitical environment.
The foreseeable economic recession calls for a collective European response in a spirit of solidarity into which France and Germany have injected fresh impetus. However, beyond financial commitments and corresponding mechanisms, European solidarity must be backed by a strong and tangible political commitment in order to shape public opinion as well as a geopolitical strategy.
The notion of national sovereignty has regained importance in recent years, both on the international stage and within the EU. The current coronavirus crisis appears, at least at first sight, to be another example of the comeback of strong nation states. However, on closer inspection, a more nuanced picture emerges: as nation-state action is becoming increasingly ineffective in the medium and long term, the need for European (shared) sovereignty is being reinforced.
The coronavirus crisis is accelerating a paradigm shift in European integration. Freedom as the organising principle of the EU was in retreat even before the pandemic when liberalisation, openness and liberal democracy came under strain in many countries. Restrictions imposed to tackle Covid-19 are reinforcing this trend. Concerns that some of these restrictions may remain in place beyond the pandemic are legitimate, particularly in the case of countries that are abusing the crisis to achieve autocratic overreach. The EU will need to find new ways to defend its legal order based on freedom.
The coronavirus crisis has affected the countries of the Weimar Triangle to varying degrees. Bilateral relations between Germany and Poland as well as Germany and France have been strongly influenced by border closures, which have led to tensions between the countries. Although Franco-German relations seem to be gaining momentum after years of relative gridlock, the lack of Franco-Polish cooperation as well as common initiatives led to the complete invisibility of the Weimar Triangle. At this point, new ways of thinking are urgently needed if the Triangle is to fulfil its raison d’être.
Germany is emerging from the first phase of the pandemic with some scars, but broadly in good shape. Like most European countries, it was late in addressing the threat posed by the virus and in “thinking European” in its response. Its six-month EU presidency starting in July is bound up with unique challenges as re-opening internal borders and restarting the European economy may well determine whether the Union can hold together. In order to drive the EU’s economic and social recovery forwards, Berlin needs to present a compelling vision for a green and digital post-pandemic Europe worth striving for.
France is one of the countries that has been worst affected by Covid-19 in the European Union, pushing its healthcare system and its economic resilience to the brink. The current crisis rapidly put the government under severe pressure and once again tested French citizens' confidence in the executive. The French approach to this multidimensional crisis, which has had a strong European focus so far, could also be an opportunity for the government to inject fresh impetus into the country's European policy and to help strengthen the European Union as an actor in the current crisis.
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit Poland in a difficult period. The issue of postponing the presidential election, originally scheduled for 10 May, has led to significant tensions in an already deeply polarised political scene. While decision-makers were quick to introduce restrictive measures, they have questioned the efficacy of the solutions to the Covid-19 crisis proposed by the EU. However, in spite of the political rhetoric of self-sufficiency, Poland needs greater EU solidarity, especially when it comes to economic challenges.
