Zur Zukunft von Deutschland in der Europäischen Union

The project of the EU as ‘an increasingly close-knit union of European nations’, as European primary law refers to, for example in art. 1 of the Treaty on European Union, is undeniably in crisis, a crisis prompted, among other things, by constant breaches of the EU’s rules on budgeting and finance policy, by the continued basic lack of a mutual policy on the refugee crisis and by Brexit, which in turn have caused a loss of trust in the European Union among all European states. How can the EU overcome the challenges it faces in the areas of interior and exterior security, migration, and economic and currency policy? How can it regain the trust people have lost in European integration? In his lecture entitled ‘Zur Zukunft von Deutschland in der Europäischen Union’ (Germany’s future in the European Union), Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble addresses these significant and highly sensitive questions. He calls for a pragmatic and efficient approach and recommends enhancing intergovernmental cooperation.