Germany's commitment to and impact on European integration: |continuity or change?

Abstract

This study examines whether, and to what extent, united Germany's commitment to and impact on European integration has changed. A cO)llparative analysis over time is undertaken by contrasting West Germany's European policy with that of united Germany. Special importance is attributed to political parties and public opinion. Both influence the shaping of European policy, that occupies a position in-between foreign policy and domestic policy, because the European Union is not only an arrangement between nation-states, but affects individual citizens directly. The process of German unification, Germany's new foreign policy and Germany's impact on European integration are studied for indications of Germany's alleged new "assertiveness". Our main finding is that the commitment of German political parties to European integration has not decreased, but even increased. However, Germany's foreign policy has shifted towards "benign" realism, and its European policy has become more . pragmatic due to new challenges in the international environment. United Germany's influence in the European Union has increased, and is, at the same time, decreasing as Germany is pushing for more supranational decision-making. The "permissive consensus" of the German public is eroding due to the changed nature of the European Union that has started to confer more rights and duties on individual citizens since the Maastricht Treaty. Notwithstanding certain changes, Germany's basic consensus on European integration continues to exist. As a trading state, the country can best ensure its interests in a peaceful and cooperative environment and considers European integration as the best tool to prevent history from repeating itself.|Keyword: Germany - European Integration - German Unification - Political Parties - Public Opinion.