Germany marginalised?

On 26–27 May in Deauville, France, during the G8 summit, Germany wished to present itself as a country participating in line with its Western allies in stabilising the situation in North Africa. However, the fact that Germany was not invited during the G8 summit to the meeting of G5 countries concerning Libya is a token of dissatisfaction over Germany’s decision to abstain from the vote on resolution 1973 concerning Libya at the UN Security Council.

Before the G8 summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel made an address on behalf of the government in the Bundestag emphasising Germany’s contribution to stabilising North Africa. Despite the government’s efforts to emphasise Germany’s co-operation with its Western partners, the publicity given to the G8 summit in Germany was mainly focused on the fact that President Nicolas Sarkozy, the host of the summit, failed to invite Chancellor Merkel to take part in the G5 meeting (France, the United Kingdom, the USA, Italy and Canada), which was devoted to the political and military development of the situation in Libya. It is worth noting that Germany is a member of the Libya Contact Group and has promised that the Bundeswehr will participate in an EU humanitarian military operation in Libya, should one be launched. It seems that this gesture during the G8 summit signifies the dissatisfaction of Germany’s Western allies with the stance Germany took during the vote at the UN Security Council. Following the vote, opinions could be heard especially in France about the impact of this decision on the image of Germany and German-French relations in security policy. <jus>