Germany can learn from France how to diversify energy sources.
(Photo: IMAGO/Agencia EFE)
Berlin The list of economic policy challenges in Europe is long: rising prices, fragile security of energy supply – and all against the background of a new threat from Moscow. Finding solutions requires not only politics, but also science.
As a media partner, the Handelsblatt is therefore co-organizer of the Henrik Enderlein Prize for young social scientists, together with the Universities of Sciences Po in Paris and the Hertie School of Governance.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Foreign Office also support the awarding of the prize. Anna Lührmann (Greens), Minister of State for Europe and Commissioner for Franco-German cooperation, speaks in an interview about the European challenges in the military and economic context.
She demands that Germany should take France as an example when it comes to diversifying its energy sources. “France put significantly less on one card than we did,” says Lührmann.
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Militarily, she sees Franco-German cooperation on the right track. “It is important to dissuade Putin from his war course,” says Lührmann. However, cooperation towards a European defense union must be further intensified.
Read the entire interview here:
Ms. Lührmann, in view of the current war in Ukraine – on what levels can Berlin and Paris work together to strengthen Europe’s role?
The EU has reacted with remarkable unity to President Putin’s attack on Ukraine, including with unprecedented sanctions. Germany and France are working with all their might to ensure that the people in Ukraine are supported with medical goods and food from Europe. It is important to us that the people who are now coming to us in large numbers from Ukraine receive fast, unbureaucratic and EU-wide uniform protection. That is why, together with France, we have campaigned for the first application of the Temporary Protection Directive. This found broad support among EU member states.
The Green politician has been Minister of State for Europe and Climate and Federal Government Commissioner for Franco-German cooperation since 2021.
(Photo: imago images/Metodi Popow)
And militarily?
Support for Ukraine also includes the provision of military material. It is important to dissuade Putin from his war course. We are coordinating closely with Paris on how we can further strengthen the EU’s common security and defense policy as a whole – also in order to strengthen and expand the European pillar in NATO. At the same time, we must make targeted investments in Europe’s resilience and ability to act, for example by reducing dependencies in the energy sector and by rapidly developing renewable energies.
What role can Germany and France play in building a European defense union?
The EU member states have been working on a European defense union since 2017 at the latest. These include the Permanent Structured Cooperation (Pesco), the Coordinated Defense Planning for Europe and the European Defense Fund. Not least because of the increasingly blatant threats from Russia towards EU member states from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, we want to further deepen these approaches and adapt them to the geopolitical realities that have changed since February 24th. This also includes the so-called Strategic Compass of the EU – initiated under the German Council Presidency – which is now to be decided under the current French Council Presidency. It reflects this concern and will ensure the coherence of the mentioned EU defense initiatives.
What role does the Berlin-Paris axis play in this?
Here, too, Germany and France have a special role to play in European security and defense policy: the Treaty of Aachen, signed in 2019, also provides for deeper Franco-German coordination on defense issues. It is essential in terms of Europe as a whole and is always intended as a nucleus for European approaches. A good, current example is the German-French air transport squadron, which was put into service just a few days ago in Évreux by the two defense ministers.
Towards a European Defense Union.
(Photo: dpa)
Germany is much more dependent on Russian gas than France. What can we learn from the French in this regard?
The main thing we should learn from France is diversification of energy sources. Germany still covers around a third of its total energy consumption from Russia, while France covers less than ten percent. It’s not just about nuclear power. France is also significantly less dependent on imports from Russia in the oil sector. Here, France has put significantly less on one card than we have. For the future, both of our countries must use the current crisis as an opportunity to accelerate the energy transition as much as possible. With the expansion of renewables and the ramp-up of a global market for green hydrogen, we have to put in the turbo.
To what extent must the current crisis lead to a rethinking of economic policy in Europe?
The transition to a more sustainable and climate-friendly economy is more urgent than ever. Climate policy is security policy. The expansion of renewable energies and the more efficient use of energy is an essential step on the way to greater energy independence. We must advance the EU’s strategic sovereignty in all economic sectors. That was also the tenor of the summit of EU heads of state and government last week in Versailles. In order to master the enormous global and geo-economic challenges and to enforce our values and norms, we also need a strengthening of the EU internal market and more and more substantial international partnerships and agreements.
With what goal?
It is about being in the right geostrategic position overall in terms of climate and sustainability, trade and investments as well as standards and technologies. It is also clear that this requires considerable investments. The Federal Government advocates sustainable and climate-friendly investments in Europe.
How is that supposed to work?
With the Next Generation EU reconstruction instrument agreed in 2020, more than 600 billion euros will be available to the member states to finance investments and reforms over the coming years. Everyone should now use these resources in the best possible way. Even when reviewing the European fiscal rules – i.e. the Stability and Growth Pact – it will be important in future to ensure growth and debt sustainability while at the same time prioritizing investments in sustainability and climate protection. The European Commission has announced concrete proposals for the first half of 2022. I expect an intensive discussion on this with our European partners.
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What role can young scientists play in this?
As is clear from our conversation, Europe faces immense future tasks. Politics needs the independent technical expertise of science in order to tackle these challenges in a sustainable, evidence-based and successful manner. With the Henrik Enderlein Prize, together with our scientific partners Sciences Po Paris and the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, we want to support outstanding young European scientists who not only conduct excellent research, but also contribute their findings to the European social discourse . I am thinking, for example, of a sustainable economic and social policy that serves the people, or the current discussions about the future energy supply or the defense of Europe.
What are your hopes?
We want to further strengthen the connection between social science research and concrete questions of policy making. At the same time, the prize should serve to identify scientific talent and promote it in a way that is visible to the general public. And of course we would like to honor Professor Henrik Enderlein, who died much too young in May 2021. With his research and his social commitment, he made a major contribution to Franco-German friendship and European cohesion.
Ms. Lührmann, thank you very much for the interview.
More: The EU is laying the groundwork for a defense union – but the path to get there is rocky