BERLIN. Security is the fulcrum of the new course to relaunch the EU and regain the confidence of the Eastern countries proposed by Armin Laschet, CDU-Csu candidate for chancellery. In case of victory in the elections on September 26 in Germany, his Europe will look more east than south, the governor of North Rhine Westphalia has hinted, after a meeting with the group of popular Europeans, which was also attended by the Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz. “With the pandemic we have managed to keep Southern Europe and Northern Europe together” by promoting common bonds but now the time has come to improve relations between East and West, Laschet told the Intercontinental hotel in Berlin. Also because, underlines the leader of the EPP Manfred Weber, after two years of easing due to the pandemic, “we must slow down on expenditure” and “Europe must return to a reasonable and stable budget discipline”. Then one chapter closes and another opens.
The offer on the plate to the member states of the eastern belt is a greater commitment to common security and defense, both towards threats coming from the East – read Russia – and towards the internal dangers that come from terrorism. NATO is not in question, it reassures the Baltic countries in particular. On the contrary, “the strengthening of the Atlantic partnership can only take place through a strong Europe” says Laschet. On the domestic front “we have all experienced the attacks: Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Nice” Laschet recalled, underlining the intra-European journeys of the terrorists before striking. To be effective and share data “we must have a stronger Europol, a European FBI” that has “the mafia, large criminal organizations and terrorism under control,” he added. The theme of migration, on the other hand, is the great absentee in Laschet’s speech. But asking for the strengthening of Frontex, the possible chancellor suggests between the lines that he intends to focus mainly on the control of external borders. This too, perhaps a concession to the Visegrad front, certainly an alignment with Kurz’s Austria. The Europe that the CDU leader has in mind is a Franco-German EU, once again. And the visit two days ago to the Elysée by French President Emmanuel Macron and to Bataclan to commemorate the victims of the 2015 attack symbolically summarize his European program: security and preferential partnership with France. Not really a novelty. Besides safety, climate and environmental protection is the other major European theme. The goal is to “carry on the Green deal and nevertheless remain competitive on a global level” while keeping an eye on jobs in Europe. Environment yes, but not at the expense of growth.