German Chancellor Angela Merkel fired a warning shot at European Union member states that have balked at sheltering refugees and thrown democratic standards such as the rule of law into question. As Bloomberg writes in an article "Merkel Demands ‘Solidarity’ From EU States Balking at Refugees", a day before an EU summit that will tackle the bloc’s budget planning after the U.K.’s exit, Merkel said in a speech to the German parliament that Brexit offers an “opportunity” to reassess how the EU spends money. Funds should flow to EU members that have joined a bloc-wide plan to take in asylum seekers, she said.
“Solidarity isn’t a one-way street,” Merkel told lawmakers in the lower house in Berlin on Thursday. “It’s the obligation of all member states never to lose sight of the whole -- and that includes respecting the values on which the European Union was built.” Merkel’s comments were directed at countries such as Hungary and Poland, whose leaders have refused to participate in a proposed system of spreading the burden of sheltering refugees.
As Brexit tears a hole in the EU’s 140 billion-euro ($172 billion) annual budget, Merkel’s caretaker government is seeking to use Germany’s position as the largest net contributor to get wayward members back into line. Its relative power will increase as a result of Brexit, which is set to create a funding gap of about 10 billion euros a year as of 2021.
German-French Alliance
The German leader aligned herself with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has suggested aid should be linked to recipients’ adherence to democratic standards. Poland and Hungary have come under scrutiny for eroding judicial institutions and curbing media freedoms in a bid to concentrate power.
Five months after Merkel won the national election, the German chancellor is awaiting the result of Social Democratic membership vote, which will decide whether the SPD will join another coalition with her. Should the vote approve a government, Merkel could be sworn into her fourth term in March.
Reaffirming Germany’s commitment to the EU’s stability and growth pact, which seeks to enforce fiscal discipline, Merkel said funds should also be unlocked for member states who implement “structural reform” of labor markets and regulation. She made a broader plea for deeper EU cooperation to tackle challenges ranging from China’s growing influence and the bloc’s waning competitiveness in digital technologies. “Now more than ever, we need European answers to the big questions of our time,” Merkel said. “The world is not waiting for us.” She also weighed in on the conflict in Syria, calling it a “massacre” and urging Russia and Iran to contribute to an end to the killing.
