Germany to the EU: no more integration

A Conservative Party article of faith has been the belief that other Europeans are innately more pro-EU than the British. In the past, this has undoubtedly been the case. Poll after poll has shown that Britons see the EU differently than most other Europeans. But as I have argued before, times are changing on the continent.

In an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (not a Europhile newspaper by any stretch), Germany’s new politics is explained. Nikolas Busse argues that the Greek crisis and failure of EU leaders to cobble together a plausible bail-out is the first major manifestation of Germany’s new role in Europe – that of a country whose government will, with full popular and cross-party support, put national interest ahead of the common European interest, and where overt hostility to further European integration is now the dominant mood in the public and among the political class:

‘The largest member-state, which for so long was the guarantor of the EU, and often still is, has for the first time openly said that it is no longer willing to pay any price for European unification.