The Coronavirus Pandemic provided Germany with the role of a European centre. However, in Berlin they prefer to stand idle while other EU countries bury the dead of COVID-19 by the thousands.
The Merkel government is in no hurry to sacrifice its interests for the affected EU countries.
This was told by columnist Sylvie Kaufmann in a publication for the French edition of “Le Monde”.
According to her, the German authorities have really reacted quickly to the spread of coronavirus. The peculiarity is that these measures were internal. At the same time, Angela Merkel’s government did not rush to help the allies. Now, while the southern countries of Europe are desperately confronting the deadly virus, Berlin is thinking about how to bring in Eastern European labour migrants to harvest asparagus.
Even if we proceed from the logic of the German leadership, continues Kaufmann, at least now Germany could come to the rescue of the victims. However, a dilemma arises here: in order to reduce the economic gap formed between north and south of Europe, one must make sacrifices. Germany, for its part, is not going to make decisions at its own expense.
In response to criticism, official Berlin regularly reminds us that it has already helped its “partners” when Germany received 200 patients from other EU countries. At the same time, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas claimed that Germany would still have time to build its own image. Kaufmann stresses that this approach “borders on carelessness”, because solidarity is needed now.