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FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
BRUSSELS – The electoral campaign in view of the June vote has begun. The topics are dominated by the war in Ukraine and its European consequences. While new forms of integration are being discussed among the Twenty-Seven, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner is cautious. In an interview, the politician rejected the idea of investing European money in defense. Of his compatriot Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, he says that “she is a threat to our competitiveness and our economic well-being, if she does not change her political ideas”.
Since taking the reins of the German Liberal Party (FDP), once led by Hans-Dietrich Genscher (1927-2016), Christian Lindner, 45, has defended a perhaps not nationalist, but certainly confederal vision of the European Union; even if the upheavals of recent years do not leave him indifferent. He knows well, for example, that there is a real possibility of a return of the controversial President Donald Trump to the White House in the next American elections.
“A single market” for defense
“We must invest in and strengthen our defense capabilities, within NATO. We have to do our homework, regardless of who is elected to the White House – explains Minister Lindner to a group of European newspapers, including Il Sole/24 Ore –. We need a new era of structural reforms. If we follow this path, working towards greater competitiveness on the one hand, and strengthening our defense capabilities on the other, we will be a partner of the United States on equal terms.”
The European Commission has just presented a strategic plan to promote the military industry. Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi recently suggested investing European money. Our interlocutor has a different opinion: “Europe must invest more in defense, but this does not mean that the European Union must do so. This is a fundamental responsibility of the member states (…) in a context which, as I said, is that of NATO”.
That said, the minister is in favor of the figure of defense commissioner: “It is not a question of investing taxpayers’ money in national armed forces at a European level, but of creating a single market, adopting coordinated procurement, strengthening innovation in the defence”. The German minister is also open to reviewing the mandate of the European Investment Bank: “I am open to allowing the bank to invest more in the defense sector. We could start with further investments in dual-use technologies (civil and military, ed.) and in research. Once we have made progress in this area, we will be able to evaluate whether or not the mandate needs to be changed.”
Private investments
Minister Lindner does not believe in the need for new European debt, despite the immense German difficulties in financing expensive commitments in the environmental, digital and military fields, in a context in which, moreover, Germany has its hands tied on the national spending front after having adopted in the Constitution the Schuldenbremse, the controversial debt brake: “The narrative according to which we need new public money is incomplete,” he says.
“There is already a lot of public sector money on the table – adds our interlocutor -. Think of NextGenerationEU: the money hasn’t been spent yet. The absorptive capacity of some European economies is not strong enough to use the available funds. Why should we consider additional public sector funding, when existing programs have not yet been used? My answer to your question about the financing of the future is the capital markets union. We need more private sector money.”
From the next report on European competitiveness prepared by former president Draghi, the German politician expects, among other things, suggestions to reduce bureaucracy, adopt structural reforms and mobilize private investments. Asked why Germany is blocking harmonization of corporate insolvency rules, he replies: “We are ready to make progress.” As for the recent reform of the Stability Pact, he defines it as “balanced” because it strengthens “the culture of stability, but at the same time we allow investments and recognize the reform efforts”.
“The technocrats at the blackboard”
Minister Lindner adds, after claiming that the rate of public investment in Germany is now “at an all-time high”: “Having said that, it is not just a question of money, but of making a choice.
Who decides the future structure of our economies? Politicians and public officials? Or is it competition, innovation? My choice (…) is that it is people, private companies, investors, scientists who define the future structure of our economies, and not the technocrats at the blackboard”.
These days, the noun “technocrats” is out of place on the lips of a German representative, especially in the government. On the other hand, Christian Lindner is also critical of the current president of the community executive whose leadership she has just re-nominated: “The personalization of bureaucracy bears the name of von der Leyen”. He reproaches her for having preferred “regulation to innovation” (he is thinking of the Green Pact, and in particular environmental regulations on cars). Ms von der Leyen and the Commission “are focusing too much on creating new bureaucratic regulations. To keep the idea of European unity attractive, I believe we must return to the heart of the matter, namely freedom.”
The tone of the German Finance Minister is election campaign. While in Germany Alternative für Deutschland fluctuates around 20% of the votes, the FDP fears a disappointing result (according to polls it would obtain 4% of the votes). 30 years after the Maastricht Treaty, and despite the succession of serious global crises that have revealed the many merits of the Union, Christian Lindner continues to embrace a confederal vision of European construction, based on the national principle of Haus in Ordnung, according to the which if all countries keep their house in order the union travels happily.