European integration has been driven by the quest for peace. The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a turning point. With the war raging at EU borders and the threat from Russia and the increasing competition with China, the answer to everything seems to be militarization. Can the EU maintain its peacemaking power? 

What is Germany’s future position on the Russian war on Ukraine in view of the political developments internally in Germany and what is the nature of the German Social Democracy’s vision of a federal European confederation? 

Ralf Stegner is one of the most well-known and recognized foreign and security policy experts in Germany. He is a member of the German Bundestag for SPD and the foreign affairs and disarmament policy spokesperson for the SPD’s parliamentary group. He belongs to the left wing of the SPD/Social Democrats, but has joined Chancellor Scholz’s “Zeitenwende” with military support for Ukraine. However, he has also called on Foreign Minister Baerbock to make a major diplomatic effort to find a peaceful solution to the conflict with Russia. Stegner belongs to the inner circle around the chancellor, but has recently publicly criticized Chancellor Scholz government’s agreement with the US-Biden on a planned stationing of new American medium-range missiles on German soil. 

September 2nd is a politically explosive time for Germany. The day before Sunday 1 September there are important elections in the East German states of Thuringia and Saxony, where the right-wing AfD is expected to become the largest party – possibly with consequences for the government in Berlin.