The German government's ongoing dispute is evident at European level through abstentions in Council votes. However, the so-called German Vote is a phenomenon that has been observed since the 2000s. The extent to which this is a special case in Germany is analysed in the free-content article.Other articles look at the impact of the ECJ's case law on violations of the rule of law under Article 2 TEU on the EU system, the handling of refugee migration in Europe and the success factors for European town twinning. The forum section looks at Macron's European policy visions from the second Sorbonne speech against the backdrop of the new European legislative period and the new elections in France, as well as the concept of an ‘enlarged European Council’ as a possible way to respond to the changed European security environment as a result of the Russian war against Ukraine.
The “German vote“ in the Council of the European Union
Andreas Wimmel
For some years now, officials in Brussels have labelled abstentions in the Council of the European Union as “German vote”. Contrary to this attribution, an analysis of all votes cast from 2010 to 2023 shows that members such as Poland, Hungary and, above all, the United Kingdom were outvoted more often. However, if the institutional and domestic political conditions for avoiding no votes and abstentions are taken into account, Germany performs surprisingly poorly. Therefore, Germany had to implement and apply more directives and regulations than many other member states without the consent of its own representative in the Council. New challenges arise for the Commission because broader majorities must be organised in order to get legislative acts across the finish line without German approval.
Constitutionalising the values of art. 2 TEU – between function and axiom
Friedemann Kainer
The case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the values of Art. 2 Treaty on European Union and the protection of the rule of law marks an important step in protecting the integrity of the European Union. Moreover, the case law on values has repeatedly played a central role in justifying the autonomy of the European legal order. Both, the protection of the rule of law and the primacy of Union law can be justified functionally: The EU can only achieve its goals as a community based on the rule of law. However, with its decision on the legality of the Conditionality Regulation, the CJEU has opened the door to a new narrative. As the values of Art. 2 TEU shape the identity of the EU, they take on a special dignity and become immutable. This might signal the beginnings of a no longer functional, but rather axiomatic justification of the Union legal order with significant consequences for the relationship between the EU and the member states. Whether the CJEU can prevail with this line of argument remains to be seen.
A question of similarity – dealing with refugee migration in Europe
Teresa Koloma Beck, Katharina Wuropulos and Alexia Hack
How refugees are received in Europe depends not only on where they arrive, but above all on where they come from. This article discusses these disparities of solidarity and asks how they can be explained. It is based on collaborative ethnographic research conducted in 2022 and 2023 in Greece, the Republic of Moldova and Germany. We show that dynamics of solidarity are oriented by imaginaries of similarity that are rooted in politically and historically embedded social practices. They are complex because they are never just about the relation to the other seeking protection, but always also about one’s own identity and self-image. This is why they are often socially contested. Ideas of similarity promote solidarity, but also create distance and exclusion. In liberal societies, which are founded on a commitment to universalist principles, there is therefore a need for corrective measures to counter the logics and dynamics of solidarity based on similarity.
Dead or Alive? Conditions of success and failure of town twinning in Europe
Dorothee Riese, Renate Reiter, Simon Lenhart, Benjamin Gröbe and Stephan Grohs
Town twinning comes with great expectations. Pursued after the Second World War as an instrument of reconciliation on the European continent, they are supposed to strengthen political and social cohesion in Europe. However, classic partnerships are undergoing changes. While some have died, others are used for new forms of cooperation. Is town twinning an outdated format? How can we capture and explain why some twinnings are very much “alive” while others “die”? Based on qualitative case studies in eight German cities, we identify institutional, actor-related and policy-related factors that contribute to the success or failure of town twinning as a form of horizontal Europeanization.
Between Sorbonne speech 2.0 and new elections – Macron's visions in a reality test
Sabine Hoscislawski and Funda Tekin
On 25 April 2024 President Emmanuel Macron described in his second Sorbonne speech the current state of the European Union in drastic terms and presented solutions to protect Europe and its model of peace, politics, social welfare and prosperity. Seven years after his first major speech on Europe at the Sorbonne, he took stock and once again made a passionate case for the European integration project. However, the speech must also be understood in light of his domestic political challenges and the new European legislative period. This article analyses the speech and the resulting implications for European policy.
Russia's attack on Europe's security order: time for a "Greater European Council"?
Ulrich Schneckener and Sebastian Schäffer
In this article, we assess the latest initiative to bring members of the European Union and non-members closer together: the European Political Community that met for its first summit in Prague in October 2022 at the suggestion of French President Emmanuel Macron. However, we see a number of shortcomings in this newly emerging European club. The key question is whether it can meet geopolitical and security challenges ahead and how it could be transformed into a building block for a new European security order. Instead, we propose the idea and the concept of a Greater European Council as a much more appropriate way to respond both to the changing security environment, due to Russia’s invasion, and the need for an institutionalised cooperation with non-EU states, including the gradual integration of applicant states.
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