The EU in decline

AP/Washington Times:
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, both limping in the polls, are looking for common approaches to U.S. President Donald Trump and fixing the flaws in the euro currency.

The two need a little mutual support right now given their respective political shakiness at home as Macron visits to take part in Germany’s annual remembrance day for victims of war and dictatorship. Macron has seen his poll ratings sag at home and Merkel has been a lame duck since saying she wouldn’t seek another term. Her conservative party has lost support in recent regional elections.

Merkel has offered support for Macron’s proposal for a European army, in the face of criticism from Trump. Both leaders have said Europe needs to depend less on others - such as the U.S. - for its defense. It’s at least in part a response to Trump’s disruption of the status quo in the NATO alliance by raising doubts about U.S. willingness to pay for other countries’ defense.

But ceremonial appearances and good words can’t paper over persistent differences between their approaches to the European Union’s economic issues.

For example, Germany and France have apparently struck a deal on a common budget for the EU countries that use the shared euro currency, something Macron has been pushing for. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told the dpa news agency that the deal was to be presented to European finance ministers on Monday, and that he hoped it would find agreement.

But the size of the budget - mentioned by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire as 20 to 25 billion euros - is far short of Macron’s idea. The amount is only 0.2 percent of the eurozone economy, far short of the several percentage points of gross domestic product originally mentioned by Macron. The compromise underscores German reluctance to sign off on anything seen as transferring taxpayer money from richer countries like Germany to more fiscally shaky ones such as Italy or Greece.
...
I suspect that both France and Germany see the nationalist movement in Europes as a rejection of their leadership on several issues and particularly on immigration.  They likely see Brexit in the same light.  Both also seem to be suffering from the Trump effect--opposing Trump leads to a decline in popularity and their economy.

It should also be noted that the amount they are willing to commit to the EU army is a fraction of what they are already required to spend on NATO.  They would be better off using the money to boost their NATO commitment.

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