Germany and the European Union: How Chancellor Angela Merkel Shaped Europe

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Contents
Abbreviations
1 Introduction
2 Angela Merkel as Europe’s New Hope?
2.1 Germany’s First Female Chancellor Angela Merkel Faces Major European Policy Challenges
2.2 The Chancellor’s European Policy Debut: Angela Merkel as Europe’s New Star?
3 Germany and the Lisbon Treaty
3.1 The Revitalization of the Constitutional Process
3.2 Safeguarding the Substance of the Constitutional Treaty as New Strategy
3.3 Successes of the German Council Presidency for the Reform Process
3.3.1 The Chancellor’s Herculean Task and Her Commitment to Europe
3.3.2 In the Run-Up to the Decisive EU-Summit of June 2007
3.4 The June 2007 Summit: A Breakthrough
3.4.1 Summit Results: (Almost) All Disputes Resolved
3.4.2 The New Contractual Bases: Substance Preservation with Cutbacks
3.4.3 Germany’s Contribution for the New Treaty: Comments and Assessments
3.5 The Lisbon Treaty on Hold 2007–2009
3.5.1 The 2007 Intergovernmental Conference
3.5.2 Renewed Dramas in the Ratification Process: Ireland and Others
4 Germany’s Role in the Euro Crisis: Europe’s Disciplinarian or Indispensable Leader?
4.1 The Subprime Debt Crisis Grips Europe
4.1.1 In View of the Global Financial Crisis: “Angela the Fainthearted”
4.1.2 Europe Sets About Regulating the Financial Markets
4.2 Germany in the Euro Crisis: Merkel as Europe’s Only Leader?
4.2.1 Initial German Hesitancy
4.2.2 Germany Commits to Euro Rescue—and Becomes Leading Power
4.3 New Euro Governance: Strong German Influence
4.3.1 The Fiscal Compact—Merkel’s Success?
4.3.2 Merkel’s Concessions in the Rescue Course
4.4 Euro Rescue—Final Act: A Temporary Grexit as Solution?
4.5 Permanent Loss of Reputation for Angela Merkel and Germany?
5 Angela Merkel and the Refugee Crisis of 2015: Events, Decisions and Consequences
5.1 Pre-2015: No Common EU Immigration and Asylum Policy in Sight
5.2 The Culmination Year 2015 and Merkel’s “Wir Schaffen Das” (“We Can Do This”)
5.2.1 A Long-Predicted Crisis
5.2.2 Merkel Leaves the German Borders Open
5.2.3 Explanatory Approaches for Merkel’s “Exceptional Humanitarian Decision”
5.3 The Refugee Crisis Permanently Divides the EU
5.3.1 Highly Contentious: The Distribution of Refugees
5.3.2 The EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement
5.4 EU Migration and Refugee Policy—A Permanent Construction Site
6 EU Enlargement Policy in the Merkel Era
6.1 Deceleration of EU Enlargement Policy After Eastern Enlargement
6.1.1 More Restrictive Framework Conditions in EU Enlargement Policy
6.1.2 Germany Pre-2016 on the Topic of Turkey’s Accession
6.2 Current Accession Prospects of the Western Balkans and Turkey
6.2.1 Many Hurdles on the Way to the EU Accession of the Western Balkans
6.2.2 Germany and the Accession of the Western Balkans
6.2.3 Does Turkey Still Have an Accession Perspective?
7 Germany’s Contributions to EU Foreign and Security Policy
7.1 A Short Story of Europe’s Foreign, Security and Defense Policy
7.2 Germany and Europe’s Foreign, Security and Defense Policy 2005–2016
7.2.1 Merkel Stands by the CFSP and CSDP Innovations of the Constitutional Treaty
7.2.2 Germany’s Part in the Erosion of CSDP
7.2.3 Germany and the CFSP 2005–2016
7.3 Germany and EU Foreign and Security Policy 2016–2021
7.3.1 Brexit as a Catalyst: Recent Advancements in CSDP
7.3.2 A European Army? German Positions
7.3.3 Germany’s Contributions to Strengthening EU Foreign Policy: A New Role Model
7.4 Is a Path Emerging for a More Globally Capable EU Foreign Policy?
8 EU Climate Protection Policy and Germany’s Ambivalent Role
8.1 The EU As a Climate Policy Leader: 20-20-20 by 2020
8.1.1 Setting the Course for Kyoto II
8.1.2 German Climate Plans After the “Energiewende” 2011
8.2 The EU Targets for the Paris Climate Agreement: Minus 40% CO2 Emissions by 2030
8.3 Germany: From a Blocker to a Pioneer for the EU’s 2020 Climate Policy Breakthrough?
8.3.1 Angela Merkel’s Change of Mind on Climate Neutrality
8.3.2 Europe’s 2020 Climate Policy Breakthrough: Regaining Global Leadership
8.3.3 Federal Constitutional Court Forces Further Climate Protection
8.4 Global Climate Leader EU—An Outlook
9 Increasingly Limited Scope for German European Policy: Parliament and Federal Constitutional Court
9.1 Bundesländer, Bundesrat, and Bundestag
9.2 The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) As an Increasingly Strict Controller of German European Policy
9.2.1 Fundamental Rights Protection as a Priority of the FCC
9.2.2 Parliament’s Responsibility for Integration: From the Maastricht to the Lisbon Judgment
9.2.3 Lisbon Ruling and Constitutional Identity: Limiting German European Policy
9.2.4 The ECB in the Sight of the Federal Constitutional Court: OMT and PSPP Proceedings
9.2.5 The Federal Constitutional Court Relents—A Sustained Change of Course?
10 The Corona Reconstruction Fund (Next Generation EU) and the Regime of Conditionality to Enforce the Rule of Law: Historic Breakthroughs under German Council Presidency 2020
10.1 The Path to the “Next Generation EU” Corona Reconstruction Fund: Angela Merkel’s Breach of Taboo
10.1.1 The Franco-German Initiative of May 2020
10.1.2 The Europeanization of the Franco-German Initiative
10.2 The Breakthrough Succeeds: Historic Resolutions 2020
10.2.1 The July 2020 Summit
10.2.2 Fierce Struggle to Protect Rule of Law
10.2.3 A Breakthrough in the Fight Against Illiberalism—Is the EU Now a Militant Democracy?
10.3 The Innovative Recovery Fund NGEU Is Ready for Use—Also Thanks to Merkel
11 German European Policy in the Merkel Era: An Attempt to Take Stock
References