Will Putin Make Europe Crumble? — On a Horrible Energy Legacy
The former Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, made her first public appearance since Putin’s latest invasion of Ukraine, in early June 2022.
In it, she stated, that she does not feel any responsibility for Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion in late February earlier this year. She rightfully put the blame on Putin.
Yet at the same time, a growing consensus amongst pundits and political analysts has pointed out that German policy towards Russia under Merkel’s tenure was — in retrospect — naïve, and may have inadvertently contributed to Putin’s geopolitical ambitions.
Many others in Europe followed similar energy policies with Russia — which made the West increasingly reliant on Putin and incapable of dissent without serious ramifications.
Here we are. Is the EU about to crumble? What is Germany’s legacy and what might the EU’s future be?
Germany is arguably the strongest emblem of Europe’s purposeful integration — and dependency on — Russia’s energy sector, and the subsequent consequences and ramifications in light of the
war in Ukraine.
The German logic resonates with its historical analysis and experience; for Merkel, this integration was meant to make Putin reliant on the EU for…
