New Changes in the Political Firmament of Germany and the European Union
The popular German weekly Die Zeit published an article about the European Union’s future relations with the new administration of US President Joseph Biden. In particular, it identifies three main issues that Europe must reconcile with the US administration, namely: Nord Stream 2, an investment agreement with China, and budget expenditures of 2 % of GDP on defense needs.
It should be noted that the article is both, openly anti-American and pro-Russian. At least that’s how it feels when you read it. Among other themes, the author raises the topic of economic benefits for Germany, writes somewhat critically about the new and previous US administration. Listing the key events, the author tries to evaluate them from the point of view of German economic selfishness. It is noteworthy that Ukraine is mentioned only as the reason for the economic dispute with Russia over natural gas prices, which affected the regular gas supply to Europe.
Possibly, the left-centre orientation of the newspaper with more than 500,000 copies per week, is clearly evident in the context of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Germany in September this year. The article points out that these issues are the most alarming for the German experts and politicians, who worry about the attitude of the state leadership to the completion of construction or, conversely, the shutdown of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. And does it make sense for NATO to increase defense spending to 2 % of GDP during a coronavirus pandemic? And how Germany should establish foreign relations with China, where the rights of Uighurs are restricted, which destroys Hong Kong’s liberal autonomy, threatens Taipei with military force. In a word, is it appropriate under the circumstances to conclude an investment agreement with China?
The article is available in Ukrainian
