Merkel in the Visegrad countries : fear of strangers among EU partners

It was a delicate diplomatic Mission, in which the Chancellor was on Thursday in Bratislava. The visit with the government heads of the four Visegrad States of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia shows that the younger post - war is similar to the history and the relationship of Germany to the Central and Eastern Europeans of a roller-coaster ride.

Germany's openers, in particular, the Hungarian Masonry is obliged to gratitude, suggested that the occasion of Merkel's visit. 30 years after the fall of the Berlin wall, it was in Bratislava, first of all, to remind us of the role of the populations in Poland, Hungary and the former Czechoslovakia in the year of change. Without the people behind the Iron curtain, ultimately, the Germans would not have been re-unification is conceivable.

The history also explains why the then Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, years before the EU accession of the Central and Eastern Europeans in particular, as an advocate of Poland's mind. Kohl's successor, Gerhard Schröder clung to this line. Germany was at that time – in 2000 – against the resistance of France, Poland received in future votes in the EU a high Voice.

Cooled

But almost two decades later, Germany are cooled relations, especially to Hungary and Poland significantly. The career of Viktor Orban, who started his political career as a classical Liberal, and his inglorious role as an authoritarian menace in the EU has found, makes one thing clear: There are politicians like Orban or the Polish PiS Chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the EU's compromise in their internal inventory. Where the EU is engaged by the view, Orban's and Kaczynski's to national sovereignty rights – for example, in the case of refugee distribution, or the rule of law – because it will be rejected.

Merkel has never made any secret of the fact that they are opposed to such an attitude to the EU. Although you don't want to come to a head other than the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the coming European election campaign on a confrontation between "Pro-Europeans" and "Anti-Europeans" à la Orban. But the Chancellor should make no illusions that populists à la Orban will be all the more louder against "Brussels" mood, the closer the European elections end of may.

A real EU-refugee policy, it continues to wait

As seen, the agreement of a joint development project for the prevention of causes of Flight, to which Merkel agreed on Thursday with the four Visegrad-countries, especially of: icon policy. A common EU refugee policy worthy of the name, it will remain waste, like Hungary and Poland.