Germany'S European Diplomacy

Germany's size, economic weight and history mark it out as the key state in the European Union. However the way it engages with the other states of the EU is often oversimplified and misunderstood. This work offers a nuanced analysis of the German role in the EU. It uses an approach which identifies German influence in the EU in terms of "soft" power. Rather than pursuing interests at the expense of other states, German diplomacy focuses on the creation of a "milieu" of multilateral co-operation in which its interests can flourish. How Germany shapes this milieu of co-operation is analyzed in this book by tracking internal processes of EU policy-making alongside the dynamics of a series of key external partnerships - with France, the UK and the Netherlands. The analysis of the interlinkages of internal and external factors is then developed further in two case studies of Germany's European diplomacy. A theme developed throughout the book is the impact of the new German government elected in September 1998.