VIEWS FROM GERMAN GOVERNMENT Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and de-facto leader of the European Union, has been firm on two fronts; first that both the UK and EU should do all they can to avoid a no-deal scenario. Second, like her British counterpart, she has supported the negotiated withdrawal agreement which has been rejected in the House of Commons on multiple occasions. Merkel has stated that an orderly Brexit is paramount for both British and European interests, this is evidenced in what she told the Bundestag: «I am still convinced that we need an orderly exit of the U.K, this is not just in the U.K.’s interest ... but it is also in the German interest, especially in the German interest and in the interest of the 27 [EU] member states.» During the emergency EU Summit, many photos emerged of Merkel and May smiling and exchanging friendly talks, so it is safe to say that while the Prime Minister is losing more friends in Parliament day by day, she has secured a close ally abroad. It should be noted that Merkel’s staunch approval of the negotiated deal will just further hurt its chances of going through the British parliament as it will only deject staunch Brexiters such as the members of the European Research Group. Financially, Merkel has expressed the immediate impact that Britain’s withdrawal would have on the EU, as she stated that there would be a € 12 billion (10 billion GBP) hole left in the upcoming 2027-2021 EU budget, since the UK is the third largest financial contributor to the EU after France and Germany, respectively. This deficiency would make it difficult for planned EU migration and defense projects, but Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) have expressed a willingness to contribute more to make up Britain’s absence. However, the CDU-SPD coalition has yet to agree to such new conditions and on a proposed contribution figure.
In this Photo Illustration, the front covers of newspapers, ‹El Mundo› and ‹ABC›, display headlines about British Prime Minister Teresa May›s Brexit speech yesterday on January 2017 ,18 in Madrid, Spain. (Getty)
punishment is the least frequently mentioned goal of the Brexit negotiations, and the preference for a harder Brexit stems from a concern for the EU’s long-term stability. As the UK got a six-month extension to come up with a new Brexit deal, governments around Europe had varied reactions regarding the quagmire that the British government has found itself in. It can be inferred that the quick approval from the EU27- of the extension indicates that the EU has accepted the outcome of Britain’s exit, but would want the exit to be a smooth one.
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The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has naturally had an entirely different reaction towards the entire Brexit process. Jörg Meuthen, one of the AfD’s co-chairmen, has blamed Merkel for the entire Brexit debacle noting that she was the one that drove to the UK to make such drastic decisions. In his view, Merkel’s decision to welcome millions of refugees unto European lands was one of the major contributing factors that persuaded British voters to choose leaving the organization. As EU parliamentary elections have loomed further, the AfD has started meeting to come up with campaign manifestoes for their candidates. Among the party’s platform is to campaign for Germany’s exit out of the EU