President

Comment: Gaucks reminder to Europe and to Germany

In the escalating European crisis, says the President of understanding for Loading and Abgrenzungsstrategien in Europe. From his words, speaks the fear of a Break up of the EU, says Christoph Strack.

They argue, they act against each other, they meet on the peaks and the postponed but – Europe’s government and Europe Minister of the interior, also their experts for dealing with the refugee crisis. “It’s no longer just about the solution to the refugee crisis,” says German President Joachim Gauck now. He is right.

But he advertises even to understanding for those States on the delimitation and closed borders. It must be conceivable that European and regional “solutions”. Since he calls “Be – or Abgrenzungsstrategien” – “complement”. Fences to accept – this is a hard requirement! This seems to be the President of the price, to more Commonality in Europe to return. Because also reminded Gauck: Only United and with United forces, with the combined political weight of Europe for the containment and combating of root causes for migration.

Escape into a new nation-States

In the past few weeks, open up new rifts in Europe. The German Chancellor Merkel, who for months for a common course – to strengthen the European external borders, in opposition to a strict Ceilings for refugees is promoting, lost a dozen allies. Finally, of all places, Austria, Merkel’s Partner in the first dramatic hours from September 2015, and went with the States of the Western Balkans in its own way. The European soul, so it you because time has given to, vanishes. Reason is not only populism. It is new nation-States out of fear of the big picture, the big whole in the times of globalization.

DW-Hauptstadtkorrespondent Christoph Strack

A variety of tensions within the European Union, diagnosed Gauck, “not for the first Time, but as strong as hardly ever before”. The honest desire for common ground is currently too weak. And the result is that the EU is weak. It sounds like disillusionment. The Europe of today is not the in peace, resurrected humans continent of Konrad Adenauer, Robert Schuman or Alcide de Gasperi. No Vision of a better future, but a sober, and sobering Realpolitik on the confusing European Rumpelstrecke.

Remarkable that the President is not primarily the simple citizen warns, “Fears and Stimmungsmachern” to follow. No, his main addressee the governments. Is his reminder, especially to the political decision-makers in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as to the German policy. And perhaps it is the bitter reminder, even those more involved, the fences, build and demarcation want.

Frightening weakness of the EU

Joachim Gauck has already several times this year to the current refugee crisis is expressed. In January the world economic forum in Davos (where there is also a “limitation” repeatedly in his speech, showed up) in a big Radio Interview in early February. And both times it worked as a bridge construction for the German Chancellor. Now he admonishes, and certainly Angela Merkel – in the refugee crisis stronger European Cohesion to consider.

Gauck reminds the Europeans of the drama of the current Situation, to the Schicksalshafte in a Moment of European history. That is a good thing. And yet – his sensible reminder also makes the frightening weakness of the EU. For a continent with 500 million inhabitants coped with not the inclusion of two or three million refugees – the Lebanon has significantly more help to cope. The current dispute – which also speaks from the speech shows the European continent into the crisis, the crisis of meaning. It is a Schicksalszeit for Europe. And thus also for Germany.

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