Suchergebnisse

THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (FRG) HAS A DIRECT AND SIGNIFICANT STAKE IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY. IT WAS THROUGH THE COMMUNITY THAT GERMANY RECOVERED ITS SOVEREIGNTY, EXPANDED ITS MARKETS, AND FORMULATED ITS FOREIGN POLICY. BONN'S NEED FOR, AND DEPENDENCE ON, EUROPEAN COOPERATION WOULD SEEM TO DETERMINE ITS POSITION ON A NUMBER OF BASIC ISSUES IN TERMS OF PRACTICAL EUROPEAN POLICIES. THIS ARTICLE ARGUES THAT IT IS A DEBATABLE POINT WHETHER BONN'S OUTWARDLY PROEUROPEAN PROFILE HAS BEEN MATCHED BY A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRULY COMMON COMMUNITY POLICIES WHEN ITS IMPORTANT SECTORAL INTERESTS WERE AT STAKE. IN SOME AREAS COMMON LEGISLATION HAS WORKED TO BONN'S ADVANTAGE, AND IN THESE INSTANCES NO CONFLICT AROSE BETWEEN NATIONAL INTERESTS AND EUROPEAN ASPIRATIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE CREATION OF A LARGE CUSTOMS UNION WAS WELCOMED BY A HIGHLY INDUSTRIALIZED GERMANY. HOWEVER, IN OTHER SECTORS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMON POLICIES CALLED FOR GREAT ADJUSTMENTS OF NATIONAL BEHAVIOUR THE PLANNED NEEDS OF COLLECTIVITY. THIS WAS PARTICULARLY TRUE OF THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY (CAP), THE FIRST AND MOST INTEGRATED OF ALL COMMON PROGRAMMES.