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What Lies Ahead of Germany’s Leadership Role in Europe

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  • CRISTINA BALGAR

    (Institute for World Economy Centre for European Studies Department, Romanian Academy, ROMANIA)

Abstract

After almost a quarter of a century since the fall of the Berlin wall, Germany has undoubtedly become the uncontested nerve-centre of the European Union (EU) in both economic and political terms, evolving not only as Europe’s most important economic power, but also as its de facto leader in terms of economic policy. Considering the negative consequences generated by the severe sovereign debt crisis that hit EU and Eurozone specifically and the further risks that this has provoked, reshaping Europe’s architecture became of vital importance for the future of European integration. Under these circumstances, major changes are needed in order to redesign EU’s configuration with a view to better withstanding the potential future crisis, to accomplish budget consolidation and to implement structural reforms in support of a deeper integration. The present paper aims to highlight the importance of Germany’s pivotal role in such a complex process and the necessity for it to exercise more leadership in order to help Europe to overcome the crisis and conflicts. Furthermore, our analysis emphasizes Germany’s current economic strength and its new geopolitical weightiness, factors that endow the biggest European economy to take the lead more decisively in the interest of safeguarding and farther developing the UE.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristina Balgar, 2014. "What Lies Ahead of Germany’s Leadership Role in Europe," Global Economic Observer, "Nicolae Titulescu" University of Bucharest, Faculty of Economic Sciences;Institute for World Economy of the Romanian Academy, vol. 2(1), pages 65-75, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:ntu:ntugeo:vol2-iss1-14-065
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christian Dustmann & Bernd Fitzenberger & Uta Sch?nberg & Alexandra Spitz-Oener, 2014. "From Sick Man of Europe to Economic Superstar: Germany's Resurgent Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(1), pages 167-188, Winter.
    2. International Monetary Fund, 2013. "Germany: 2013 Article IV Consultation," IMF Staff Country Reports 2013/255, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Ansgar Belke, 2010. "The Euro Area Crisis Management Framework: Consequences and Institutional Follow-Ups," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1076, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Nitschka, 2016. "Is There a Too-Big-to-Fail Discount in Excess Returns on German Banks’ Stocks?," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 292-310, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic and political power; Germany; sovereign debt crisis; European integration; leadership;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
    • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes
    • F01 - International Economics - - General - - - Global Outlook
    • F02 - International Economics - - General - - - International Economic Order and Integration
    • F43 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Economic Growth of Open Economies

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