The coalition of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, which came to power in Germany on December 8, has immediately taken up foreign policy. Just a few hours after taking office, new German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock left for Paris, and later headed to Brussels and Warsaw. Two days later, new Chancellor Olaf Scholz followed the Foreign Minister along the same route.
The choice of destinations for the first foreign trips of the Chancellor and the Foreign Minister came as no surprise. Berlin once again stressed that the EU is its key foreign policy priority. "Nothing is as important for Germany as a strong and united Europe," Baerbock said before the trip. At the same time, France and Poland are Germany's main partners in the EU, despite all the contradictions in their bilateral relations with Berlin.
These contradictions were primarily noticeable in Warsaw, and the Polish side did not conceal those much. Scholz and Baerbock, however, diligently demonstrated restraint and constructive approach, as Germany needs Poland to further strengthen and unite the EU, primarily in terms of foreign and defense policy. Actually, the development of a unified foreign policy position in relation to Minsk, Moscow, as well as on the current situation around Ukraine, was naturally the central focus of the Warsaw talks.
However, German restraint and constructiveness does not mean compliance. During a press conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Scholz made it quite clear that Germany set its heart on a dialogue with Russia, including within the Normandy format, but has no intention to abandon Nord Stream 2. The Chancellor elaborated on the latter issue, saying Germany will switch to renewable energy sources in 25 years, making gas transit lose its current urgency – one needs to wait a while. And gas, including Russia's, is needed to make this very transition.
By the way, serious energy contradictions have also recently appeared in German-French relations as to whether nuclear energy should be recognized as climate neutral. Berlin is definitely opposed to this, especially now that the Greens have come to power, and the new government calls the transition to renewable energy its most essential and urgent task, along with combating the pandemic. The issue was discussed at the talks Scholz and Baerbock had in Paris, but those yielded no solution, which will apparently make the energy dispute drag on for quite a long time.
Apart from the European direction, the new government immediately got off the ground along the transatlantic track. The day after his inauguration, Scholz attended US President Joe Biden's Summit for Democracy, and then the two had a telephone conversation. Baerbock, in her turn, visited the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Liverpool last weekend, where she also held bilateral talks with the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Climate was one of the key points in the course of these negotiations. In the next four years, it will most likely top the German Foreign Ministry's overall agenda, including the country's upcoming G7 presidency.
Moreover, during their visits to Brussels, both the Chancellor and the Foreign Minister met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Scholz assured him that Germany, despite all the pre-election statements by the SPD and the Greens, will not abandon either further defense budget increases or the deployment of American nuclear weapons in its territory. Baerbock corroborated this by noting that "nuclear engagement" within the alliance and nuclear disarmament "go hand in hand" and serve one and the same purpose of maintaining worldwide security.
During this first week, continuity and new accents were manifested in new German government's foreign policy. The general trend remains much as it was, but Berlin is now faced with the new routine task of promoting the energy transition both within the EU and globally, as well as foreign policy integration of the European Union. Exactly this way did Scholz outline priorities in the course of his meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Apparently, Russian-German relations will also feature continuity and new accents. Being a Willy-Brandt-style "eastern policy" advocate, Scholz is clearly determined to keep a constructive dialogue with Moscow going, and intends to take up this foreign policy direction personally. The Foreign Ministry is in line with the Chancellor's restrained line towards Russia – this is quite noticeable from the new chief diplomat's first statements. But at the same time, Scholz claims that Germany will pursue an "eastern policy" along with its EU partners, and the first conversation between Baerbock and her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov featured, among other things, cooperation on hydrogen. However, it is not entirely clear how constructive and restrained the general "eastern policy" of the European Union can be, especially with Poland being in the picture.
