When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Geopolitics

Why Olaf Scholz Is Still Not Convincing On Ukraine

Praising the courage of the Ukrainian people, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured Kyiv of Germany's support for “as long as it is needed.” Not nearly enough, according to the country's opposition.

Why Olaf Scholz Is Still Not Convincing On Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Dec. 8

Editorial

-Analysis-

According to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Russian President Vladimir Putin has not achieved any of his goals in Ukraine. “Not a single one of Putin’s plans has worked,” Scholz said in a speech to the German Parliament earlier this month.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

He said Putin had “fundamentally miscalculated” in believing that Russian troops would overrun Ukraine within a few days.


Scholz added that Putin had assumed that Europe and other Western democracies would be too divided to help Ukraine in any meaningful way, and that the Russian leader had "believed that he could undermine European solidarity by switching off our gas supply.”

Telling it like it is

But Putin was mistaken “about the courage of the Ukrainian people, about Europe, about us, about the nature of our democracy, about our determination to oppose Russia’s imperialism and hunger for power,” said Scholz. “That is the true story of this year, 2022.”

The German chancellor said that Ukraine is standing up to Russian aggression, but the West has also stepped up to the challenge.

Germany will have 30,000 troops on standby for NATO.

“Together with our friends and partners, we have firmly supported Ukraine – through financial and humanitarian aid and by supplying weapons. We will continue to offer this support – as long as it is needed,” Scholz confirmed. “In a few weeks’ time an especially difficult year will draw to a close.” He called Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine an appalling, era-defining event.

Neighborhood watch plans

The chancellor also emphasized Germany’s unconditional commitment to its alliances. “Our allies know that they can rely on us. They know that, if necessary, we will defend every single square meter of NATO territory.” He pointed to the 100 billion euros of funding allocated to the German army.

This year and over the next two years, Germany will provide 17,000 soldiers to the NATO response force, and next year it will once again take over leadership of NATO’s rapid reaction corps. From 2025 onwards, Germany will have 30,000 troops on standby for NATO.

Offering specifics on how Germany plans to contribute to the security of its neighbors, Scholz added that the German Air Force will protect airspace over Estonia, Germany's navy will increase its presence in the Baltic Sea, and German ground troops have already strengthened NATO’s combat units in Lithuania.

Phot of \u200bDraghi and Macron greeting Scholz on their train to Ukraine

Draghi, Scholz and Macron on a train to Ukraine back in June

Filippo Attili/ANSA/ZUMA

Skepticism on EU gas price cap

Moving to the energy challenges facing Europe, Scholz expressed Germany’s skepticism over the possibility of introducing a European gas price cap. “There are no easy, quick solutions. We can’t interfere with prices in a way that will mean Europe does not have a sufficient gas supply,” he said, offering that he was sure that member states would agree on a good, pragmatic solution during the important discussions that continue at an EU level.

"You are still hiding behind your NATO allies."

Partly due to Germany’s reservations, EU states had been unable to agree on a European gas price cap. However, at a meeting on Monday, Dec. 19, European energy ministers agreed to set a 180 euros/MWh limit despite German fears that such a move would actually increase market volatility.

Scholz also pointed to big steps forward on energy security, such as the opening of the first floating liquefied natural gas terminal on Saturday in Wilhelmshaven, with more terminals to follow in the near future. Scholz spoke directly to all the workers and engineers who had contributed to realizing this “awesome achievement” in record time, saying, “it is thanks to you that this year we will make it through the winter."

Too little, too late?

In his response to Scholz’s speech, opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) said the chancellor was personally responsible for the fact that Ukraine had not received the German tanks it had asked for. “The more we help, the sooner this war will be over,” said Merz. “But the Ukrainian army still doesn’t have the armored personnel carriers and battle tanks that it needs, which we could supply from our own stock and industry stock."

“Almost ten months since the war began, you are still hiding behind your NATO allies, who are apparently also reluctant to supply tanks to Ukraine. But we know that is not true,” Merz continued. “You are personally responsible for the fact that Ukraine is not getting the help it needs.”

Ahead of the upcoming EU summit, Merz also accused the chancellor of failings when it comes to EU relations. “We should not forget that we are currently experiencing deep divisions in Germany’s relationship with France,” said Merz. He added that many commentators, especially in Paris, were speaking of “a low point in relations.”

Failing on the international stage

Merz said that relations between Germany and France were vital to the strength of the European project and must be carefully maintained. “Like a good lawyer, you can draw up a meticulous inventory of every item in the house in which we all live," said Merz. "But you have no understanding of what is holding the house up, the foundations, and you don’t have an architect’s imagination or the determination of a master builder, which are necessary to make this European house weatherproof and fit for the future.”

The CDU leader concluded by blaming Scholz for failings on the wider international stage. He said the coalition government needed to agree on whether there should be a new free-trade agreement with America. And Scholz had not said “a single word” about the protests in Iran, where demonstrators have been executed, Merz said. “It is clear that there are glaring gaps in your speech, and that above all you want to avoid addressing questions over which your government is divided.”

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The Endless War

Inside Israel's Plans To Transfer Palestinians From Gaza To Egypt's Sinai

Dubbed by some as the 'Eiland plan,' after a retired Israel general, Egypt is vehemently opposed to any attempt to transfer Palestinian refugees from Gaza, which could turn Sinai into a launch pad for operations against Israel, and ultimately redraw the map of the Middle East again.

Inside Israel's Plans To Transfer Palestinians From Gaza To Egypt's Sinai

Palestinians at the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip.

Lina Attalah

-Analysis-

CAIRO — On October 24, a document leaked from Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel detailed that a durable post-war solution for Gaza has to include the transfer of Palestinians to Sinai, Egypt. According to the document obtained by the Israeli Calcalist news website, the move would include three steps: Establishing tent cities in Sinai, creating a humanitarian corridor, and constructing cities in North Sinai for the new refugees. In addition, “a sterile zone” several kilometers wide would be established in Egypt south of the border with Israel to prevent Palestinians from returning.

The ministry, according to observers, doesn’t have a strong weight in government, with intelligence apparatuses operating outside its framework. “The existence of the document and the formal idea is not a surprise. But that it is leaked and the proof it is out there, is interesting,” says Daniel Levy, president of the London-based Middle East Project and former peace negotiator with Israeli Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Yitzhak Rabin.

Shortly before that, on October 18, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivered an improvised speech about the ongoing Israeli military assault against the Gaza Strip that followed Hamas’ incursion into Israel nearly two weeks earlier.

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

“Transferring [Palestinian] refugees from the Gaza Strip to Sinai would simply amount to relocating their resistance… turning Sinai into a launch pad for operations against Israel and granting Israel the right to defend itself and its national security by conducting strikes on Egyptian land in retaliation.”

Sisi’s vehement rejection of a “second nakba,” especially after U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to pressure Egypt to create a humanitarian corridor, was turned into a quest to elicit public support for his government. With less than a month to go before a presidential election that was hastily announced amid a crippling economic crisis, Sisi then called for popular demonstrations to support his position. His appeal resulted in a few thousand people turning out for protests on October 20, primarily in Cairo.

Sisi’s position is also consistent with a stance long held by previous Egyptian rulers who have historically rejected any Israeli attempts to displace Palestinians into Sinai. Whether or not Israel’s current military campaign against Gaza succeeds in making the relocation plan a fait accompli is yet to be determined.

Against this backdrop, Egyptian media outlets, owned by security apparatuses close to Sisi, have been publishing and airing detailed reports about an earlier Israeli blueprint to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to the Sinai Peninsula. Most of them claim to have revealed what they call the “Eiland plan,” named after a retired major general, Giora Eiland, who served as the head of the Israeli National Security Council between 2004 and 2006. State-aligned media have made sure to highlight Sisi’s uncompromising opposition to the plan, even if it includes offers for debt relief or financial aid packages from the Joe Biden administration.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest