New federal government: Juncker hopes for a “clear pro-Europe course” from Germany

Former EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker hopes that the future German federal government will return to a clearly pro-European course. “It is to be hoped that the new German federal government, when it is in office, will take a clear pro-Europe course,” Juncker told the German Press Agency. He also hopes that the German-French relationship, which is important for Europe, “will move in a better direction in the first half of 2025.”

“People had gotten used to Germany being one of the pro-European forces without nuances,” said Juncker. “It’s not like that anymore.” In recent years, it has often no longer been possible to clearly see the German position on certain issues. The federal government always abstained when the coalition partners could not agree on a point of view. “There were a huge number of German abstentions. But abstention is not an attitude.”

Juncker added: “And it makes me displeased that a large country – Germany is always the largest country – is sometimes incapable of speaking in Brussels. This is not a good situation and is also not conducive to the respectability and authority of German expression of opinion.”

In France, too, because of the lack of a governing majority, “the ability to actively govern” must be given a question mark: “Which is not good, because more joint action by the Germans and the French in Europe is needed to counteract this deadlock that exists in some places in Europe. to put an end to it.”

The German response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestions for more joint action was “pretty reserved and even puny.” That is not good for Europe either. “It is therefore desirable that German-French relations will also improve when a new German federal government is in office.” This has nothing to do with party affiliations: “It’s enough for me if the next German Chancellor takes a pro-European course.”