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Britain, Conflicted on Its Place in Europe, Looks to Germany Merkel Warns Britain Not to Expect Too Much
(about 7 hours later)
LONDON — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will address members of both houses of Parliament, have lunch with Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street and then meet Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for afternoon tea on Thursday. LONDON — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany addressed members of both houses of the British Parliament, had lunch with Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street and then planned to meet Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for afternoon tea on Thursday.
The itinerary contrasts tellingly with the recent visit to Britian by President François Hollande of France, who was received at a military air base and treated to a country pub lunch. The itinerary contrasted tellingly with the recent visit to Britain by President François Hollande of France, who was received at a military air base and treated to a country pub lunch.
Mr. Cameron, who says the European Union must make important changes if Britain is to remain a member, has been investing heavily in his relationship with Ms. Merkel, the leader of the Union’s most powerful nation. When he was invited last year to Schloss Meseberg, Ms. Merkel’s official guest residence outside Berlin, Mr. Cameron made the trip a rare family outing, taking his wife and children to emphasize the strength of the friendship. But, despite warm words in her address to Parliament, Ms. Merkel offered her hosts little substantive encouragement for Mr. Cameron’s desire for major reform in the European Union to help him counter euroskeptic voices seeking Britain’s withdrawal from the 28-nation body.
But analysts have been warning that the red-carpet reception Mr. Cameron is preparing reflected unrealistic expectations in Britain for what Germany’s chancellor, who is known for her pragmatism, can deliver. “We need a strong United Kingdom with a strong voice inside the European Union. If we have that we will be able to make the necessary changes for the benefit of all,” Ms. Merkel said.
“They think Merkel is the savior, the great white hope,” said Charles Grant, director of the London-based Center for European Reform. “But her power is much more limited than that.” But, switching from German to English to make her point, Ms. Merkel said: “Some expect my speech to pave the way for a fundamental reform of the European architecture which will satisfy all kinds of alleged or actual British wishes. I am afraid they are in for a disappointment.”
Joachim Fritz-Vannahme, director of European projects at the Bertelsmann Foundation, a German research institute, said that Mr. Cameron was “overestimating her and underestimating the German will to go ahead with more European integration – at least in the euro zone.” Britain does not use the common currency, and it has been pulling in the opposite direction, seeking to decentralize some powers. “Others are expecting the exact opposite and they are hoping that I will deliver the clear and simple message here in London that the rest of Europe is not prepared to pay almost any price to keep Britain in the European Union. I am afraid these hopes will be dashed,” she added.
Mr. Cameron, who says the European Union must make important changes if Britain is to remain a member, has been investing heavily in his relationship with Ms. Merkel, the leader of the union’s most powerful nation. When he was invited last year to Schloss Meseberg, the German government’s official guest residence outside Berlin, Mr. Cameron made the trip a rare family outing, taking his wife and children to emphasize the strength of the friendship.
But analysts have been warning that the red-carpet reception for Ms. Merkel reflected unrealistic expectations in Britain for what Germany’s chancellor, who is known for her pragmatism, can deliver.
“They think Merkel is the savior, the great white hope,” said Charles Grant, the director of the London-based Center for European Reform. “But her power is much more limited than that.”
Joachim Fritz-Vannahme, the director of European projects at the Bertelsmann Foundation, a German research institute, said that Mr. Cameron was “overestimating her and underestimating the German will to go ahead with more European integration — at least in the euro zone.” Britain does not use the common currency and has been pulling in the opposite direction, seeking to decentralize some powers.
To Berlin, Mr. Cameron’s objectives look fuzzy, Mr. Fritz-Vannahme said. “It is not very clear what he would like to have back from Brussels,” he said.To Berlin, Mr. Cameron’s objectives look fuzzy, Mr. Fritz-Vannahme said. “It is not very clear what he would like to have back from Brussels,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Merkel’s new coalition partners, the Social Democrats, favor greater European integration, and few other members of the Union are eager to rewrite the bloc’s rule book. Ms. Merkel’s new coalition partners, the Social Democrats, favor greater European integration, and few other members of the union are eager to rewrite the bloc’s rule book.
The stakes for Mr. Cameron are high. Under pressure from the right, notably the United Kingdom Independence Party, which wants to curb immigration and quit the European Union, Mr. Cameron’s government has steadily hardened its European policy. A year ago, he promised that if he wins another term in 2015, he will renegotiate Britain’s ties with the Union and then ask voters to decide in a referendum whether to stay in the bloc or leave. The stakes for Mr. Cameron are high. Under pressure from the right, notably the United Kingdom Independence Party, which wants to curb immigration and quit the European Union, Mr. Cameron’s government has steadily hardened its European policy. A year ago, he promised that if he wins another term in 2015, he will renegotiate Britain’s ties with the European Union and then ask voters to decide in a referendum whether to stay in the bloc or leave.
The concerns about migration that already feature in British politics have surfaced in other nations, including Germany, and populist parties are expected to gain strength in elections for the European Parliament in May. So Mr. Cameron is hoping that Ms. Merkel’s political instincts will make her an ally.The concerns about migration that already feature in British politics have surfaced in other nations, including Germany, and populist parties are expected to gain strength in elections for the European Parliament in May. So Mr. Cameron is hoping that Ms. Merkel’s political instincts will make her an ally.
For her part, Ms. Merkel has made clear that she wants Britain to remain in the European Union. Many German policy makers see Britain’s strong attachment to free markets as a vital counterbalance to the more statist approach of countries like France. Ms. Merkel also knows that closer integration among the 18 nations in the euro zone could strain relations with the European Union’s other 10 members, who share the same single market though not the currency. Many German policy makers see Britain’s strong attachment to free markets as a vital counterbalance to the more statist approach of countries like France. Ms. Merkel also knows that closer integration among the 18 nations in the euro zone could strain relations with the European Union’s other 10 members, who share the same single market though not the currency.
Mr. Cameron wants to pursue his policy objectives in Europe through a rewriting of the European Union’s governing treaties because the Union’s rules give him a veto in that process, and therefore more negotiating leverage than he would have in more ordinary legislating and policy making. Mr. Cameron wants to pursue his policy objectives in Europe through a rewriting of the European Union’s governing treaties because the union’s rules give him a veto in that process, and therefore more negotiating leverage than he would have in more ordinary legislating and policy making.
But as Ms. Merkel is aware, a full-scale treaty revision would open the way for each of the 28 nations to put forward its own demands, and the finished product would require ratification by referendum in several member countries, a process that on previous occasions has produced unwelcome surprises in France, the Netherlands, Ireland and elsewhere.But as Ms. Merkel is aware, a full-scale treaty revision would open the way for each of the 28 nations to put forward its own demands, and the finished product would require ratification by referendum in several member countries, a process that on previous occasions has produced unwelcome surprises in France, the Netherlands, Ireland and elsewhere.
So far, Mr. Cameron has not said specifically what he wants from such a treaty renegotiation, perhaps because he would be unlikely to satisfy hard-line euroskeptics in his party.So far, Mr. Cameron has not said specifically what he wants from such a treaty renegotiation, perhaps because he would be unlikely to satisfy hard-line euroskeptics in his party.
Though The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday that Ms. Merkel was preparing to offer Mr. Cameron a limited amount of help on the issue, her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in Jerusalem on Tuesday that “the expectations of the British press are clearly too high,” according to Bloomberg News.Though The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday that Ms. Merkel was preparing to offer Mr. Cameron a limited amount of help on the issue, her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in Jerusalem on Tuesday that “the expectations of the British press are clearly too high,” according to Bloomberg News.
Meanwhile, the gap between what Mr. Cameron’s Conservative Party hopes Ms. Merkel can offer and what she is prepared to deliver may be growing. “The hard line on migration in Britain has alienated several other capitals,” said Mr. Grant of the Center for European Reform. “Britain needs Germany, but it also needs other friends and allies if it wants to achieve reforms in the E.U.”