Disappointment and criticism are reverberating through German political circles following a compromise reached within the European Council regarding aid for Ukraine. Franziska Brantner, co-leader of the Green Party, expressed considerable disappointment, stating that the agreement on frozen assets demonstrated a failure to fully pursue the potential for utilizing those assets to benefit Ukraine. She emphasized the critical need to ensure that European citizens are not ultimately burdened with the cost of damages inflicted by Russia, highlighting a significant concern regarding the financial implications for European taxpayers.
The criticism extended to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with Brantner suggesting he had been unable to foster European consensus on the issue. While acknowledging the ongoing need to secure broader support for the initiative, she implicitly challenged the Chancellor’s ability to navigate the complexities of European politics.
CDU parliamentary group vice-chair Norbert Röttgen echoed these sentiments, praising the commitment to funding Ukrainian defense for the next two years as positive for both Ukraine and European security. However, he strongly condemned the decision to initially finance this aid through European debt, effectively placing the burden on European citizens rather than leveraging the assets of the aggressor state. Röttgen characterized this approach as a demonstration of “European weakness.
Röttgen further lamented the absence of sufficient political will among European states to assert independence from the United States, asserting that securing this assertiveness was a risk undertaken by Chancellor Scholz and praising him for generating a necessary political dynamic.
SPD foreign policy expert Ralf Stegner added his voice to the chorus of disapproval, stating that Scholz failed to secure agreement at the EU summit to utilize Russian assets for reconstructing Ukraine. He argued that the compromised agreement significantly diminishes the prospects of achieving this goal and, consequently, weakens Europe’s leverage to negotiate a ceasefire and establish a sustainable peace order. The emerging consensus seems to suggest a growing unease within Germany about the efficacy of European foreign policy and the capacity to independently pursue strategic interests.
