Headlines: European Merkel

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By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

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One year before the Chancellor's departure, Germany takes over the rotating presidency of the Union on Wednesday ... And on this occasion, Angela Merkel could well leave her mark.

Indeed, "  can we hope? Looks like it , says La Croix. After many years in which the European Union has floundered in the contradiction of short-sighted national interests, several conditions seem to be met for a threshold to be crossed in the direction of greater solidarity among the Member States. Luck and bad luck have something to do with it , notes the Catholic daily. As for bad luck, a health crisis that will lead to a violent economic depression and, at the same time, a terrible slump in international cooperation due to the rivalry between self-centered powers: the United States of Donald Trump, China of Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin's Russia. To face , continuesThe Cross, Europe can only count on itself. And this is where luck comes in. It turns out that at the head of the most powerful country in the Union, Germany, is a Chancellor at the end of his political career. So, personally, she has nothing to lose in political terms. Angela Merkel has clearly seen the challenge that needs to be taken up. She took, with Emmanuel Macron, the initiative of a stimulus fund to help the countries most destabilized by the pandemic, accepting the pooling of debt necessary for the operation.  "

Good news for the EU

Indeed, points Le Figaro , “  so far, Germany had never departed from the role of the ant in the fable of La Fontaine, refusing any pooling of debt after the financial crisis of the last decade. Today, she begins her semester of EU presidency without more urgent task than to enlist the other 'frugal' (Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden) in the European recovery plan of 750 billion euros . (…) This is good news for the European building, says Le Figaro. Considered a 'lame duck' six months ago, the Chancellor has renewed political capital thanks to her careful and effective management of the pandemic. It will need it to translate into action the 'extraordinary solidarity' that circumstances demand. At the end of almost fifteen years of power, this is his last chance to leave a mark on Europe: not only by helping the 27 to overcome the crisis, but by turning them towards a future of innovation and independence. Applying a bit of German ambitions and methods to the EU is not likely to harm . "

Quick awareness

It is a “  real turn to the left  ”, comments for his part the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni, interviewed by Liberation . "  The decisive factor in this process was the rapid awareness of Germany," he says: the prosperity and stability of the euro have become more important to her than the taboos that have prevailed in the previous 20 years. . (…) It is not the first time that Merkel has shown that it is capable of changing its mind to manage a crisis, notes Paolo Gentiloni. The Franco-German relationship played a fundamental role in his awareness that it was necessary to have a common engine of economic policy, in this case the stimulus fund, to avoid the divergence between the economies.  "

Airbus degreases

Consequence of the health crisis in Europe: "  Airbus is cutting 15,000 jobs  " is front page news from La Dépêche .

Fifteen thousand job cuts, including 5,000 in France. "  Sacred first world manufacturer of the year 2019, the European aircraft manufacturer is forced, just a few months after his victory over Boeing, to drastically reduce the airfoil, sighs the Toulouse daily. The dropout is unprecedented in the history of Airbus. (…) There will obviously be 'before and after', Pointe La Dépêche, which will result in the destruction of 15,000 jobs at the manufacturer and perhaps as many in subcontracting companies and the sectors on which it flows part of the profits of this industry ... The ax falls brutally on employment in spite of a plan of assistance of 15 billion euros which plays obviously only a marginal role of shock absorber of the crisis. (…) For specialists, in fact, a return of air traffic to its pre-epidemic levels is not expected for two or three years. Perhaps the worst is yet to come … ”

The new faces of ecology

Liberation paints a portrait of the new green mayors… “  Jeanne Barseghian, environmental law at the town hall of Strasbourg; Léonore Moncond'huy, from scouting to the town hall of Poitiers; Anne Vignot, from the CNRS at the town hall of Besançon; Grégory Doucet, humanitarian worker at the town hall of Lyon; or Pierre Hurmic, from the law firm at the town hall of Bordeaux  ”.

So, comments Liberation , "a  renewal in ideas, in programs, but also in ascents, which change programmed careers in the seraglio. Risky revolution? We doubt it. The impetants and the impetants have prepared themselves for a long time, they are ready to tackle reality, and even to make the necessary compromises. Managing a city is also a school of pragmatism. This does not scare them. Especially since they have before them the example of the precursor, Eric Piolle (in Grenoble). After a six-year term and smooth management, he was re-elected without a blow. The green wave will not go away immediately…  ”

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• Newspaper
• Germany
• Angela Merkel
• European Union