Venerable place, important words about the European Union: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Monday to students at Prague’s Charles University.
(Photo: Roman Vondrous/Imago/CTK Photo)
It is a place intended to add weight to the Chancellor’s words. In a keynote speech at Prague’s Charles University, one of the continent’s oldest universities, Olaf Scholz called for Europe to assert itself and for reforms of the European Union. “For the foreseeable future, Putin’s Russia will define itself as opposed to the European Union. Any disagreement between us, any weakness will be exploited by Putin,” said Scholz to students in the university’s awe-inspiring Great Auditorium.
The speech by the SPD politician is scheduled for one hour. Time enough to fill a gap. So far, Scholz has not spoken extensively and in detail about what the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine means for the EU and how he envisions the future of the Union. Prague is a suitable place for this, as Germany in general and Scholz in particular are subject to harsh criticism from Central and Eastern Europe. The Czech Republic, which holds the EU Council Presidency this six-month period, has also complained that the German government’s response to the Russian attack was too hesitant and too half-hearted.
Scholz: Germany can assume special responsibility
“We do not accept Russia’s attack on peace in Europe! We do not simply watch as women, men and children are killed, as free countries are erased from the map and disappear behind walls or iron curtains,” said Scholz beginning of his speech. He refers to the arms aid for the invaded country. Scholz said he could “imagine Germany taking on special responsibility for building up Ukrainian artillery and air defense.
But the chancellor devotes most of his time to the future of the EU. One of his major concerns is the member states’ right of veto, which still applies in many policy areas, and which Scholz sees endangering the Union’s ability to act. Scholz emphatically demands a reform. This is also necessary so that the EU can keep its promise to take in the countries of the Western Balkans, but also Ukraine and Moldova.
The chancellor absolutely wants to prevent groups from forming.
Where unanimity is still required today, “the risk that a single country will use its veto to prevent all others from making progress increases with every additional member state,” warns the Chancellor. Without reform, there is a risk of “moving forward in ever more diverse groups” and “a jungle of different rules”. This is an “invitation to everyone who wants to bet against a united geopolitical Europe and play us off against each other. I don’t want that,” warns Scholz.
That is a message to his hosts, but also to Poland, for example. In the east of the EU in particular, there is a great concern that they will be outvoted. He takes it seriously, says Scholz and calls for compromises. So you can start with majority decisions in areas “in which it is particularly important that we speak with one voice. In sanctions policy, for example, or in questions of human rights”.
Scholz calls for a common EU air defense system
Scholz also uses the speech for a few answers to French President Emmanuel Macron, who calls for a “sovereign” Europe and has proposed a political community beyond the EU. Scholz remains cautious, only speaking of a “forum in which we, the heads of state and government of the EU and our European partners, discuss once or twice a year the key issues that affect our continent as a whole: security, energy, climate or connectivity”. Under no circumstances should this be misunderstood as a substitute for EU enlargement.
In the Chancellor’s view, Europe must also grow together militarily. “We need a better interaction of our defense efforts in Europe,” he demands. He demands that the EU’s planned rapid reaction force should be operational by 2025. A joint air defense system would also make sense. NATO remains the “guarantor of our security”. But it is also true: “Every improvement, every standardization of European defense structures within the EU framework strengthens NATO.”
Hope for a common migration policy
Scholz would like progress in migration policy, so far a major point of contention in the EU. This requires more cooperation with the countries of origin and effective protection of the external borders. Europe also needs “an asylum system that is solidary and crisis-proof”.
Scholz also wants to campaign for democracy and the rule of law within the EU. It “worries him when people in the middle of Europe talk about “illiberal democracy” – as if that weren’t a contradiction in terms,” he says. From Prague, Scholz also sends a declaration of war, especially to Budapest, to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the man who has been trying to get close to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin since the attack on Ukraine. It makes sense, says Scholz, “to consistently link payments to compliance with rule-of-law standards.”