Quietly, Germans Take On More Prominent Role at EU

The Wall Street Journal

By LAURENCE NORMAN

When Axel Weber walked away from the chance to be the next president of the European Central Bank, many in Brussels were amazed that Germany again lost out on the chance to pick up a powerful European Union post.

Despite playing an ever more important role as the holder of the euro zone's largest checkbook, Germany has failed to secure any of the EU's heavyweight jobs. The head of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, is Portuguese; the leader of the European Council is a Belgian, Herman Van Rompuy. The EU's new foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, is British, while the ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet, is a Frenchman (and will soon pass the baton to an Italian, Mario Draghi). The head of the European Parliament, meanwhile, is Poland's Jerzy Buzek.

Yet EU watchers say this first-glance view of German officials on the sidelines is misleading. In addition to the German government pushing its interests more aggressively in private than it does in public, observers note a growing ring of key Brussels players from the EU's largest member state.

The latest German official in a key role is the colorfully named Uwe Corsepius, who became secretary-general of the European Council last month.

Mr. Corsepius, 50 years old, is one of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's men. He served as a senior civil servant during the administration of Germany's previous leader, Gerhard Schröder, and was picked in 2006 to be Ms. Merkel's European policy adviser. In February he took over as economic and financial policy adviser to the German chancellor.

Mr. Corsepius succeeds France's Pierre de Boissieu in the European Council secretary general role. Mr. de Boissieu was considered one of the most powerful people in Brussels, partly because of his long years of experience in the European capital and his close ties to French presidents.

But the post itself is also a powerful and influential one. As secretary general of the European Council, which represents the interests of member states, Mr. Corsepius would likely have access to almost any meeting that President Herman Van Rompuy holds, as well as the key EU and euro-zone summits. He is in charge of drawing up the agenda for council meetings and plays a key role in picking personnel. When Mr. Van Rompuy reports in October on how to improve EU crisis management, Mr. Corsepius, who holds a Ph.D. in economics, will likely have his fingerprints somewhere on the recommendations.

Other Germans also hold senior EU posts. Over the road from the council, the top official in European Commission President Barroso's cabinet is Hamburg-born Johannes Laitenberger, who took over in 2009.

At the European Parliament, it has long been expected that German Social Democrat Martin Schulz will take over from Mr. Buzek around the turn of the year.

Meanwhile, at the ECB, executive board member and chief economist Jürgen Stark has long been considered one of the central bank's most powerful figures. Many would consider him the de facto No. 2 once Mario Draghi takes over as ECB president on Nov. 1, even though Vítor Constâncio holds the vice-president spot.

Still, if there is one single thing driving increased German influence, it is the severe economic failures of other euro-zone member states. Thus, when Germany says the euro-zone bailout fund shouldn't be allowed to buy other countries' bonds, it doesn't. When Germany changes its mind, so does the euro zone.

What's more, diplomats say that the high-ranking Germans aren't just pushing Berlin's interests. One diplomat described Mr. Laitenberger as a full-on commission-committed European first, and a German second. The ECB is a highly independent institution and the Parliament presidency, while symbolically important, has limited powers.

As for Mr. Corsepius, several diplomats said that ultimately, the extent of his influence will rest on the strength of his relationship with Mr. Van Rompuy. To get access to the tight inner circle around the former Belgian prime minister, Mr. Corsepius will have to show that while he was once Ms. Merkel's man, in future, he will be a neutral arbiter among fractious member states.

Write to Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@dowjones.com