On her first trip abroad, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described Europe as the “linchpin of German foreign policy”. This is what Baerbock said on Thursday in a joint appearance with her French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian during her inaugural visit to Paris. In the Ukraine crisis, she warned Russia of the serious consequences of a further escalation. It was Baerbock’s first international appearance. She spoke in German and said goodbye with the French words “Merci” and “Au revoir”.
In the event of an escalation in Ukraine, Russia would have to reckon with serious consequences: “Russia would pay a high political and, above all, economic price for a renewed violation of Ukrainian statehood.” A military escalation must be avoided. Solutions can only be found through diplomatic channels, said Baerbock. You and Le Drian are ready to get deeply involved personally.
Barebock also emphasized at her subsequent meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels that “Russia’s troop build-up” was a threat that Germany and NATO would oppose. Baerbock, who read her short statement in English, also emphasized the “indispensable” role of NATO for German security. Stoltenberg had previously praised this and threatened Russia with serious economic consequences should a Russian invasion of Ukraine take place.
According to observers, such an invasion is not even on the agenda, as the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday showed.
During a joint appearance with Baerbock, the EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell warned Russia of an attack on Ukraine. In support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, they are ready to use “all available instruments”. Ways to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience are also being explored. According to dpa, the possibility of sending military instructors to Ukraine is being discussed in the EU. Severe new economic sanctions are seen as a possible reaction by the EU to a Russian attack on Ukraine. Baerbock said: “We have underlined our common solidarity with Ukraine.”
Baerbock had previously said that more strategic sovereignty for Europe vis-à-vis Russia and China, for example, means “that we seek cooperation wherever it is possible and strengthen independent action where it is necessary”. This is “not just a military question, but above all a question of diplomacy, the rule of law and strong economic cooperation in the European Union”.
Baerbock also used her visit to Paris for a few private moments. On the way from the French Foreign Ministry on the Quai d’Orsay to the Gare du Nord, the Thalys train station, the 40-year-old has her convoy of vehicles stop briefly on a Seine bridge to take photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background. These are for her two daughters, she said at the spontaneous stop, according to dpa. Then the drivers with Baerbock make a little detour past the world-famous Louvre. In the train station, she stopped at two piano players before getting on the train, reports the dpa.
Despite the exuberant tones, Baerbock stuck to the rejection of the French plans to classify nuclear power as “green” energy. “It is well known that we have different positions on the nuclear issue,” she said. The subject of so-called taxonomy is being discussed at all levels, including between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as at the European level in Brussels. Scholz wanted to go to Marcron’s inaugural visit on Friday.
It is still particularly controversial in the EU whether nuclear power and gas can also be considered sustainable. France, together with countries like Poland and the Czech Republic, wants to label nuclear power as “green” at all costs. Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, among others, are strictly against it.
In Brussels, Baerbock also met the US climate commissioner John Kerry, EU climate commissioner Frans Timmermans and EU interior commissioner Ylva Johansson.
On Friday, Baerbock wants to fly to Warsaw for an inaugural visit to her Polish colleague Zbigniew Rau. Another conflict awaits them there: drastic posters have been hung on a wall in the center of Warsaw. They show the ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier as well as the German ambassador in Warsaw, Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, in a row with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. The poster campaign, which is funded with public money, is intended to emphasize Poland’s claims for reparations for war damage.
The Foreign Office in Berlin described the representations as “defamatory”. Leading representatives of the ruling PiS party insinuate that the new federal government wants to turn the EU into a “Fourth Reich”.