The last week has been portentous for the future of Europe. In fact, it’s hard to remember a time in recent decades when the continent’s political leaders were faced by so many weighty headline issues competing for their urgent attention. ‘’Europa in seiner schwersten Krise seit Jahrzehnten [Europe in its most difficult crisis in decades]’’ read the Bild in Germany this week. And for once, the tabloid could be forgiven for its hyperbole.
German tabloids are not alone in their angst. Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the President of the Eurogroup, said at the start of the week that the time available for a Greek request to extend the existing bailout package was running out, insisting that ‘’We can use this week, but that’s about it’’. At the end of the week, however, the Syriza government seems no more inclined to extend the bailout package, even despite pressure exerted on Athens by US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.
Germany vs. Greece: still 0-0
There has been much speculation in the European press that the profound personality clash between German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and his Greek counterpart, Yanis Varoufakis, could produce fireworks at today’s (Friday) third meeting of the Eurogroup in Brussels. Considering that on Thursday the German government rejected the letter Varoufakis had submitted to Dijsselbloem on Wednesday requesting a six-month extension of its Eurozone loan programme - instead of renewing the existing bailout deal - chances of a clash are not inconceivable.
What with the Eurosceptic Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party having won its first seats in a regional assembly in western Germany in Hamburg last weekend and a recent TV poll conducted by ARD television channel delivering a result of 41 per cent of viewers wanting Greece out of the Euro, Schäuble cannot afford to be seen domestically as a ‘’soft touch.’’ Worryingly, from a German perspective, it is no longer clear whether the European Commission and Berlin, as Greece’s biggest creditor, are on quite the same page following events this week.
Friends, foes and forgotten
The rollercoaster negotiations between the new Syriza government in Greece and the Eurogroup might have captured everyone’s attention in the ‘’Brussels Bubble’’, but from Mitteleuropa to all points east on the map, it was the question whether or not the new ceasefire in eastern Ukraine would hold that was more on people’s minds. As ever, the Bild newspaper captured the contemporary Zeitgeist in Germany with its overblown headline on "Der Russe oder der Grieche: Wer ist gefährlicher fur uns? [The Russian or the Greek: who are the more dangerous to us?]".
Once again German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her government have proved to be at the heart of those momentous events as the de facto leaders of Europe since the financial crisis began to bite Europe (if ever there was any doubt). Even more glaring, however, was David Cameron’s absence in diplomatic efforts to mediate between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Petro Poroschenko. Some commentators both in London and Brussels have noted this week that the current Ukrainian and Greek crises give an unpalatable foretaste of what life might be like for the UK post-Brexit, with Britons having to get used to seeing their country being on the margins. In some quarters in Europe, the perception is that Britain has already begun its withdrawal from the continent.