The Role of Germany in Determining European Integration Policy on the Modern Stage

The issue of the role of Germany in European integration has been given a new urgency because of a multi-factor crisis, which presently affects the European community. The ability of the European Union to develop collective responses to current challenges depends largely on the ability of Germany to determine the common European political course. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of Germany in the integration process and to identify the internal and external factors which constrain the German leadership in Europe. With neorealism and intergovernmental approach used as the basic theories, this research examines particular aspects of German leadership, namely its active involvement in designating the solution to the debt and migration crises and in promoting the introduction of the Common Foreign and Security Policy. The author reveals the key characteristics of the country’s leadership model as well. The EU is considered to be a tool which Germany uses to achieve its national interests. However, this research consistently proves that the interests of Germany and the Union are largely identical. In addition, the current limitations to German leadership were analyzed: internal political instability in Germany due to the outflow of votes from the people's "catch-all" parties, the crisis of solidarity and the growth of Euroscepticism, the crisis of Transatlantic partnership and uncertainty in EU-US relations.