How have Germanys relations with the EC/EU changed since unification - Essay Example

The inevitable Europeanization of Germany has had discernable changes in the nature of political organization and legislative outcomes. To begin with, there is a notable change at a structural level. For instance, “the development of party structures designed to facilitate co-ordination of European and national MPs, or co-ordination of national and European policy position” had altered the model of law-making in the country (Bulmer, 2001). This is a reflection of a pattern seen across the European Union, where most political parties have formed a European committee or European representative to the prevailing party structure.

But most of these changes have been minor ones, and the communication between the party units at the national and the continental level has been very poor. More profound institutional changes have also taken place in the aftermath of the unification. In particular, “Europeanization can contribute to the consolidation and centralisation of party leadership, the streamlining of party practice, and a widening gap between leaders and rank and file” (Bulmer, 2001). Since the end of the Cold War and the subsequent unification of Germany, there has been persistent discussion, analysis and debate in the academic and media circles over the perceived differences, between the structural aspects of Germany’s political and economic institutions before and after the unification.

In this context, the term Bonn Republic is applied to represent “the old Federal Republic of Germanys (FRG) political system, with its emphasis on political stability, consensus politics, high welfare expenditure and a multilateral foreign and defence policy”. In sharp contrast, what is termed the new Berlin Republic, post October 1990, “is seen to refer to a more fluid polity, in which traditional patterns of domestic politics and policy are called into question,