One can imagine that the outgoing German chancellor is unhappy with her legacy in Eastern Europe. In Berlin as well as in Brussels, Angela Merkel leaves considerable headaches about the future of the post-Soviet space. Above all, many East Europeans in Warsaw, Kyiv, or Tallinn are likely to be more or less unsatisfied with Merkel’s heritage. In 2005, Germany’s first female chancellor took office at a time when the political situation in Eastern Europe was relatively relaxed and Moscow was still on good terms with the West. Russia was a G8 member, involved in a special council with NATO, and engaged in negotiations for an expanded cooperation treaty with the EU.
Ukraine-European Union Relations
OP-ED
Andreas Umland: Merkel’s ambivalent legacy in Eastern Europe
(L-R) Brigadier General Jens Arlt, German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a military roll call of the military evacuation operation (MilEvakOp), in Seedorf, northern Germany on Sept. 22, 2021.
