GERMANY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: FROM THE ECONOMIC LOCOMOTIVE TO POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

Abstract

The article contains analysis of three interlinked topics: the European policy in Germany, an impact of European integration on internal political order of the country and modern state and perspectives of German euroscepticism. The German government has been a proactive leader of both the EU enlargement and deepening of European integration. The author considers the roots of the European policy in Germany and critically assesses its strengths and weaknesses. It is stressed that during the period of rapid growth of the EU in 1990s – beginning of 2000s Berlin played a significant role in the process. However, the crisis of the EU development which had been taking place since the first decade of 2000s remains to be a crucial reason for Germany to correct its European policy and leads to the appearance of unprecedented discourse of euroscepticism, which previously existed only in a form of marginalized narrative. The author presents an analysis of the reasons of German euroscepticism, its organizational structure, electoral support groups and some problems of its appearance and perspectives. Considering some unique characteristics of the German case, the author names such aspects as the absence of direct demands for exit, moderate character of articulated demands and organizational disunity. From the author’s point of view, euroscepticism is closely linked with nationalism, what especially stressed in the German case. The author concludes by saying about potential depletion of political and socio-economical agenda constructed by eurosceptics. It is stated that for German political elites the rise of euroscepticism is a factor which prompts them to rethink European policy and its further development.

Keywords

• germany
• european union
• euroskepticism
• “alternative for germany”
• european integration