 |
| A. Merkel, D. Cameron, F. Hollande; Foto: TMNews (http://www.tmnews.it) |
During the European Council in December 2012 all the European leaders stood side by side. In January 2013 the future of the European Union is being used to drive a wedge between the "Big Three": Great Britain, France and Germany. While Angela Merkel and François Hollande celebrate their "Golden Wedding", David Cameron pledges EU exit. What a European Leadership? Stefan Lehne states: "Several factors differentiate these three countries from most other
member states. First, the Big Three states can still rely on their own
weight to influence developments and are less dependent on multilateral
institutions. Second, they can forum-shop; the EU is just one of several
relevant institutional frameworks in which they can operate. And third,
the Big Three are involved in shaping policies across a much wider
range than other states."
