Merkel’s legacy at stake as Germany takes EU reins

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Germany took over the European Union’s six-month presidency yesterday, with outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel staking her legacy on a massive economic recovery plan to help the bloc cope with the coronavirus fallout.

Merkel’s last major role on the international stage comes as the 27-member club faces its deepest recession since World War 2, triggered by a pandemic that has killed 500,000 people globally.

The crisis has galvanised Europe’s most powerful leader, who, with just over a year left in her final term, has ditched her usual wait-and-see approach to call for “extraordinary measures” to weather the storm.

“Europe’s future is our future,” she said on Monday as she stood beside French President Emmanuel Macron to push for a €750 billion coronavirus recovery fund.

The proposed fund would controversially be financed through shared EU borrowing and marks a stunning U-turn for Germany after years of opposition to debt pooling.

The EU’s rotating presidency is Merkel’s “last chance” to make her mark as one of Europe’s great leaders, Der Spiegel weekly wrote, adding that it was time for Germany to shoulder more responsibility as the bloc’s biggest nation and top economy.

“For years, the chancellor put off dealing with the chronic problems of the EU and the euro. Now, towards the end of her political career, she has the opportunity to make up for past mistakes,”

Spiegel wrote.

There will be no shortage of challenges in the months ahead.

Post-Brexit negotiations, a more assertive China, rocky transatlantic ties, climate change and the conflicts in Libya and Syria will all be jostling for attention, even if the pandemic promises to dominate the agenda.

After 15 years in office, Merkel is the bloc’s longest-serving leader and held the EU presidency once before, in 2007. But the stakes are higher this time.

A first major test will come at a July 17 to 18 EU summit, where Merkel hopes leaders will reach an agreement on the €750 billion rescue fund. The money is expected to come mainly in the form of grants for hard-hit countries, such as debt-laden Italy and Spain.