As France prepares for the unexpected snap elections that French President Emmanuel Macron called following the European Parliament elections, Germans are bracing for a seismic shift in EU politics.
With the early elections In France around the corner, Germany is preparing to face results that are expected to lean to the right.
Climate, migration and gender equality policies are likely to be affected at the national level in France if the extreme right party National Group, by Marine Le Pen. However, political scientist Miriam Hartlapp has warned that the effects could extend to the entire European Union.
“Policymaking in Brussels will change, because members of this right-wing populist party could sit in the Council of Ministers. This creates a different situation for countries like Germany and other European nations,” says Hartlapp.
“France is not a small Member State, but a large and important one. We can hope that European climate policyasylum and migration policy and gender equality policy at European level will then have a different aspect,” he adds.
Miriam Hartlapp says the shift to the right has spread across Europe, as discontent with current governments is reflected in the political climate.
Concern in Germany about the future of European politics
The Germans are aware of the changes and this “causes concern”, explains Miriam Hartlapp, pointing to the recent interview of the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in which he declared that he hopes “that the parties that do not have an orientation like that of Marine Le Pen, so to speak, succeed in the elections. However, that has to be decided by the French people.”
Hartlapp adds that the EU can expect immigration-related cases to be brought before the European Court of Justice.
“Some points of the program National Group They clearly contradict the fundamental rights of the European Constitution. For example, immigrants in France do not have the same rights as French citizens in terms of housing and social benefits. This directly contradicts EU law,” says Hartlapp.
Meanwhile, in Germany, some politicians from far-right parties such as Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Die Heimat have announced this week their plans to form factions in the eastern state of Brandenburg, after the AfD surpassed all political formations in the ruling government coalition during the European Parliament elections.
