Only days before Britain’s European Union agreement was concluded in Brussels, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister David Cameron were guests of the mayor of Hamburg at the Matthiae-Mahl, a sumptuous annual dinner which dates back to the 14th century.
Symbolism matters and one can hardly think of a better place than the proud city of trade to demonstrate a British-German Schulterschluss (closing of ranks). Germany needs allies in a European Union that has struggled to keep up with the pace of globalization.
The federal government has underlined that the Brussels deal was a substantive agreement touching upon issues of joint concern – such as enhancing competitiveness and fighting the abuse of social rights – while bringing greater clarity and fairness to areas of marked difference, in particular regarding the rights of the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of the eurozone.
