Germany, a federal republic, has the largest population among the European Union, EU countries. Germany is among other six countries that found the EU in 1957. Most members of the EU currently use the euro as their legal tender; 16 out of the 27 registered. The domination of Germany in the affairs of the EU started under Bismarck’s era, in 1945. Following this, the EU entrusted her to lead other member countries in running the affairs of the Union regarding the management of the euro. Compared to other member countries like Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain, Germany acting as “a fiscal saint” was the first to breach the Union regulation known as stability and growth pact, which demanded that any member country should not operate on a budget deficit of more than 3% of GDP (Rosenthal 1). As Spain breached the law by scaling 60% limit, Germany exceeded to the height of 80% limit defined in the Stability and Growth pact.
After the collapse of the Berlin wall caused by NATO’s influence, Germany decided to go by her own strategies without consulting the EU. The defeat of the First World War and France’s intervention after the euro crisis laid the foundation for Germany’s success. After Chancellor Angela Merkel had announced the energy shift, Germany adopted her own source of energy claiming that she did not benefit from the use of nuclear, unlike her neighbors; this was against the EU’s regulation. However, most analysts argue that the project will increase the cost of production among other economic and social challenges (Hawley 1). Latterly, France substituted Germany after she installed nuclear power to be shared by other neighboring countries.
Germany’s relationship with the EU went sour after the frequent defeats she experienced in her quest to dominate the affairs of the EU. She divided her country politically, the communist and the democrats. Later it was integrated after the fall of the Berlin wall. In addition, she controlled the financial affairs of member countries but caused the euro crisis and was forced to “step down.” Following these, she defied the advice of the EU and decided to operate on her own.
Works cited
Hawley, Charles. "Germany Addresses Problems with Renewable Energy Subsidy System - SPIEGEL ONLINE." SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten. Version 1. SPIEGEL International, 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 8 Nov. 2012.
Rosenthal, John. "Germany and the Euro Crisis: Is the Powerhouse Really So Pure? | World Affairs Journal." World News Headlines, Essays and Opinion -- World Affairs Journal. Version 1. American Peace Society, 20 May 2012. Web. 8 Nov. 2012.
