The “Zeitenwende” proclaimed by German Chancellor Scholz on 27 February last year raised many expectations throughout NATO’s eastern flank, says Rolf Nikel. Especially in Poland, says Germany’s former ambassador to Poland. “Now it is a matter of restoring trust through action. Germany has an even greater obligation than before,” says Nikel, who is now vice president of the German Council on Foreign Relations, in an interview with Till Hoppe and Viktor Funk.
The Commission wants to achieve a completely different “Zeitenwende” in the online world with the Digital Services Act. The many platforms have made it an exciting task: Those who wanted to find their publicly available user numbers sometimes had to use their detective instincts. But the Commission did not specify where exactly this figure, which is so important for the Digital Services Act, has to be disclosed online. And it will also dig deeper because it won’t accept the fact that some platforms simply don’t provide concrete numbers. Germany also has its hands full when it comes to the DSA. What exactly that is, you will find in my analysis.
In addition to high-ranking government representatives and defense experts from many countries, members of the European Commission also used the Munich Security Conference (MSC) as a platform for talks and messages. This also included Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who spoke with the British Prime Minister about Northern Ireland, and EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell, who spoke about joint European arms procurement.
Mr. Nikel, you warn of a deep rift between Germany and Poland caused by the mistakes made by German policies towards Russia.
The rift concerns the political level, not civil society exchange or the booming economy. Germany must regain lost trust after its failed Russia policy. This policy was supported by various federal governments, large parts of the German economy and the German public. Poland, not only today’s governing PiS party, has told us time and again that we are too naïve when it comes to security policy and that we have made ourselves far too dependent on Russia for our energy. We refused to listen.
Do people in Warsaw believe Berlin’s assurances that they have learned their lesson?
The Zeitenwende announced by Chancellor Scholz on 27 February last year has raised many expectations on NATO’s entire eastern flank. Especially in Poland. Now it is a matter of restoring trust through action. Germany has an even greater obligation than before.
Are Warsaw and Berlin pursuing the same goals vis-à-vis Moscow at all?
Poland wants to isolate Russia and its people as much as possible, Germany wants to contain Moscow, weaken it economically and isolate it politically. Poland still sees Germany as a political adversary when it comes to Russia. Nevertheless, there is now a better chance for a joint Russia policy at eye level, as the German government has been aligning with Poland on Russia policy like never before.
Even if Poland again demands high reparations from Germany?
They certainly are not beneficial to a united stance against Putin. Germany has made a 180-degree turnaround: In Russia and Ukraine policy, in energy policy and also in EU enlargement. This offers the strategic opportunity to talk to each other and act at eye level.
The German government’s announcement to supply Ukraine with the Leopard battle tank should be welcomed by Poland. After all, that is exactly what it has demanded.
It is. Chancellor Scholz’s decision is very important. But now we see that some people who have loudly called for tank deliveries have been hiding behind Germany. Those who say A should also be able to say B.
What else should Berlin do?
In the current situation, strengthening the NATO alliance plays an important role, especially the eastern flank. This means that we must strengthen the defense capability of the German armed forces. The two-percent target is only one step. That would bring us to about 70 billion euros per year, but that is not necessarily met with enthusiasm by some, including in Poland. Therefore, an even stronger integration into the EU and NATO would be desirable. This is also a matter of communication. And: With all the necessary caution, we must give Ukraine everything it needs in the current situation. So that it can win this war.
How do the Polish people feel about the demands for peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow in the open letters from Germany?
Poland does not understand this internal German debate at all. It even does harm, because the demands are perceived as cynical, as they threaten to deny an aggression victim the help it needs and raise doubts about the Zeitenwende in the German public. In Poland, the rationale of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, the symbolic figure of Polish independence in the first half of the 20th century, is that there can be no Polish freedom without an independent Ukraine.
Warsaw counts very heavily on the USA as a security guarantor. What does this mean for efforts to strengthen European defense capabilities?
The course of the war so far has shown how important the USA is for us Europeans overall. We must first acknowledge that Warsaw will in future play an important role in the emerging new systemic conflict between Russia and the West. Poland will become the new frontline state, just like Germany during the Cold War. Washington, however, has no interest in seeing that state in conflict with Brussels and Berlin. In this respect, the US administration is advocating the greatest possible European and Western unity.
How can the alignment be improved here?
We need a genuine common European Eastern policy. This includes the EU’s enlargement policy as well as the Eastern Partnership. Talks with Poland, all other eastern EU states, but also France are necessary. That is why I propose reviving the format of the Weimar Triangle. For all issues concerning Ukraine, the Weimar Triangle could be expanded to include Ukraine.
The PiS, however, does not seem to have much interest in close cooperation with Germany.
It would depend on a try. As is well known, Polish elections are coming up this year. And Ukraine, which would certainly be very interested in this format, could influence Warsaw. Poland repeatedly states that it supports Ukraine’s EU aspirations. Here would be a useful platform.
How should German politics respond when voices criticizing Germany become louder in the Polish election campaign?
By not getting dragged into the election campaign. Keep cool. Germany has always been part of Polish internal politics. Even in Germany, election campaigns are not necessarily an exercise in nuance.
Should Berlin also stay out of the dispute between the EU Commission and Warsaw over judicial reform and frozen EU funds?
In any case, we should be careful not to bilateralize this dispute between Poland and the EU Commission. It concerns fundamental values, there are corresponding rulings of the European Court of Justice, decisions of the Commission and long discussions in the EU Council of Ministers. We should push to resolve the conflict and there are first signs that this could succeed.
In your book, you are quite outspoken for a diplomat. You recount confidential conversations with Polish politicians. Why?
I believe you have to be frank from time to time, especially as a representative of a think tank, the German Council on Foreign Relations, which I have served as vice president for more than two years. And some of the anecdotes may be quite interesting for the reader. Overall, I have restrained myself and continue to do so.
Rolf Nikel, born in 1954, began his career at the German Foreign Office in 1980. He was a staff member in the embassies of the Soviet Union, Kenya and France before being appointed ambassador to Poland in 2014. During his 40-year career in the diplomatic service, he worked for a total of 14 years in the German Chancellery for Chancellors Helmut Kohl, Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel. He has been vice president of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) since June 2020.
The EU is keen to get to the bottom of it. By February 17, online platforms and online search engines that offer their services in the EU were required to disclose their user numbers. But not all of them wanted to go into detail. While Google specified its user figures down to the 100,000 mark, companies like Amazon or Apple merely said whether they were above or below the 45 million user threshold. But that simply will not suffice for the Commission. “That’s not enough. A number is a number.,” Commission spokesman Johannes Bahrke tweeted. “We call on those platforms that haven’t done so yet to publish their numbers rapidly!”
The background to the census is the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which has been in force since November 16, 2022. Very large service providers are bound by stricter rules, which include the implementation of a code of conduct. Very large online platforms (VLOPs) or very large online search engines (VLOSE) are those that have more than 45 million active users in the EU, which corresponds to around ten percent of the EU population. Once the Commission has designated the respective companies, they have four months to implement the applicable provisions under the DSA. Violations may result in fines of up to six percent of annual sales.
The Commission’s guidance does state that providers must “must make that information publicly available, by publishing it on their online interface” But it does not specify that this information must be easy to find or published under a specific section. So it takes some investigative skills to find the relevant information. Some published the figures in their legal notice, like the online marketplaces Otto.de, Kaufland.de or Zalando, others provide detailed information like Google or Snapchat.
The following 19 platforms belong to the companies that claim to be VLOPs or VLOSEs because they have published corresponding figures:
The German online retailer Zalando states on its website that the overall platform – i.e. including third-party vendors – has 83.34 million users. Of these, 30.84 million would directly use the services of the provider itself. This makes Zalando the only German platform that is likely to come under the direct supervision of the Commission.
This is because the Commission will assume direct supervision of companies that are VLOPs and VLOSEs. For all other platforms and search engines, the EU member states themselves are responsible, and they must appoint digital service coordinators (DSCs) for this purpose by February 17, 2024. From that point on, even platforms with fewer than 45 million active users will have to comply with all DSA regulations.
Germany has yet to appoint a coordinator. The prime candidate is the Federal Network Agency. However, in response to a query on Friday, the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport neither confirmed nor denied that this decision had already been made. The Digital Services Act, the German implementation law for the DSA, which will officially appoint the German coordinator, is still in the works.
The law is expected to come into force on January 1, 2024. Therefore, government circles consider it a matter of weeks rather than months when the ministry will present the draft law. The coordination with the German federal states could turn out to be difficult: Most recently, they insisted on the supervisory sovereignty of the states and the non-governmental nature of media supervision under the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).
In the opinion of Julian Jaursch of the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, the question of how the coordinator works is at least as important as who becomes the German coordinator. “Regardless of who ultimately takes on the task, it is important that we have a public debate about what we expect from this coordinator,” says the project manager for platform regulation at the Berlin-based think tank. Accordingly, discussion points should include:
“If you think about it early on, it can only have advantages,” says Jaursch. In any case, the coordinator’s task should not be underestimated, he believes. After all, even platforms that have fewer than 45 million monthly users must comply with the DSA’s regulations. And here the member states are responsible for penalizing any violations. “That’s why it would be good if Germany set up a strong coordinator with sufficient resources, expertise and powers,” advises Jaursch.
From a consumer perspective, Martin Madej, Digital and Media Officer at the Federation of German Consumer Organisations, welcomes the new European law. “It’s good that the rights of users are now enshrined, putting an end to a lot of arbitrariness.” The EU has set standards and established procedures, and the important thing now, he said, is to create clear structures. “Consumers need a simple and easy-to-use system,” he said, adding that it was now important to create clear structures. “Consumers need a simple and low-threshold procedure to be able to assert their rights,” says Madej. “They should not get lost somewhere in the jungle of jurisdictions. We need a front office they can turn to. What then happens in the back office, can be highly complex, but that’s exactly what the coordinator does. That’s what we need to create.”
On Friday, the EU Commission also launched a public consultation on DSA enforcement procedures. It closes on March 16.
How are religions viewed in Europe? Which initiatives in Germany and other countries focus on Islam, for example? How does politics deal with Muslims and representatives of other faiths? These are some of the questions Tomáš Sacher would like to address together with the Narrative Change Academy of the Young Islam Conference. “With this new project by the foundation, we are working with young people from three European countries on the topic of Islam in Europe and want to contribute to a constructive debate culture,” explains the 39-year-old.
He also wants to strengthen cooperation with European partners through other programs of the Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe, of which Sacher has been managing director since January 1. “In the Understanding Europe education project, for example, we are trying to reach young people in smaller towns away from the big cities, who normally give little thought to their European identity,” he explains.
Tomáš Sacher is originally from the Czech Republic and has been living in Berlin with his German wife for more than years. Their four children are not only growing up speaking German and Czech but are also learning English at bilingual schools, as well as some Spanish and French. Their eldest son is currently spending an Erasmus semester in Prague.
The Schwarzkopf Foundation offers the family man the opportunity to live the European idea every day in the workplace as well: The approximately 50 employees come from a wide variety of European countries, some of them also live abroad, and participate in meetings via video link. The week-long sessions of the European Youth Parliament are held twice a year – and always at different locations.
Tomáš Sacher has also always sought ways to strengthen cohesion in society at the European level during his previous professional posts. Most recently, he headed the international cultural program of the Czech EU Council Presidency. Before that, Sacher, who holds a Ph.D. in media and communication studies, served as president of the European Union National Institutes for Culture and as director of the Czech Center Berlin.
After graduating, he spent two years traveling through European countries as a presenter and journalist. Among other things, he reported on the Ukrainian presidential election and the Maidan protests 13 years ago for a major Czech weekly newspaper – an experience that also shaped his view of the current war. “In Ukraine, I met people who were willing to sacrifice everything for their chance at a future in Europe,” he says. He now sees the Russian war in Ukraine as a wake-up call to all politically active people in Europe: “We must defend the goals we have already achieved.” Janna Degener-Storr
The “Zeitenwende” proclaimed by German Chancellor Scholz on 27 February last year raised many expectations throughout NATO’s eastern flank, says Rolf Nikel. Especially in Poland, says Germany’s former ambassador to Poland. “Now it is a matter of restoring trust through action. Germany has an even greater obligation than before,” says Nikel, who is now vice president of the German Council on Foreign Relations, in an interview with Till Hoppe and Viktor Funk.
The Commission wants to achieve a completely different “Zeitenwende” in the online world with the Digital Services Act. The many platforms have made it an exciting task: Those who wanted to find their publicly available user numbers sometimes had to use their detective instincts. But the Commission did not specify where exactly this figure, which is so important for the Digital Services Act, has to be disclosed online. And it will also dig deeper because it won’t accept the fact that some platforms simply don’t provide concrete numbers. Germany also has its hands full when it comes to the DSA. What exactly that is, you will find in my analysis.
In addition to high-ranking government representatives and defense experts from many countries, members of the European Commission also used the Munich Security Conference (MSC) as a platform for talks and messages. This also included Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who spoke with the British Prime Minister about Northern Ireland, and EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell, who spoke about joint European arms procurement.
Mr. Nikel, you warn of a deep rift between Germany and Poland caused by the mistakes made by German policies towards Russia.
The rift concerns the political level, not civil society exchange or the booming economy. Germany must regain lost trust after its failed Russia policy. This policy was supported by various federal governments, large parts of the German economy and the German public. Poland, not only today’s governing PiS party, has told us time and again that we are too naïve when it comes to security policy and that we have made ourselves far too dependent on Russia for our energy. We refused to listen.
Do people in Warsaw believe Berlin’s assurances that they have learned their lesson?
The Zeitenwende announced by Chancellor Scholz on 27 February last year has raised many expectations on NATO’s entire eastern flank. Especially in Poland. Now it is a matter of restoring trust through action. Germany has an even greater obligation than before.
Are Warsaw and Berlin pursuing the same goals vis-à-vis Moscow at all?
Poland wants to isolate Russia and its people as much as possible, Germany wants to contain Moscow, weaken it economically and isolate it politically. Poland still sees Germany as a political adversary when it comes to Russia. Nevertheless, there is now a better chance for a joint Russia policy at eye level, as the German government has been aligning with Poland on Russia policy like never before.
Even if Poland again demands high reparations from Germany?
They certainly are not beneficial to a united stance against Putin. Germany has made a 180-degree turnaround: In Russia and Ukraine policy, in energy policy and also in EU enlargement. This offers the strategic opportunity to talk to each other and act at eye level.
The German government’s announcement to supply Ukraine with the Leopard battle tank should be welcomed by Poland. After all, that is exactly what it has demanded.
It is. Chancellor Scholz’s decision is very important. But now we see that some people who have loudly called for tank deliveries have been hiding behind Germany. Those who say A should also be able to say B.
What else should Berlin do?
In the current situation, strengthening the NATO alliance plays an important role, especially the eastern flank. This means that we must strengthen the defense capability of the German armed forces. The two-percent target is only one step. That would bring us to about 70 billion euros per year, but that is not necessarily met with enthusiasm by some, including in Poland. Therefore, an even stronger integration into the EU and NATO would be desirable. This is also a matter of communication. And: With all the necessary caution, we must give Ukraine everything it needs in the current situation. So that it can win this war.
How do the Polish people feel about the demands for peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow in the open letters from Germany?
Poland does not understand this internal German debate at all. It even does harm, because the demands are perceived as cynical, as they threaten to deny an aggression victim the help it needs and raise doubts about the Zeitenwende in the German public. In Poland, the rationale of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, the symbolic figure of Polish independence in the first half of the 20th century, is that there can be no Polish freedom without an independent Ukraine.
Warsaw counts very heavily on the USA as a security guarantor. What does this mean for efforts to strengthen European defense capabilities?
The course of the war so far has shown how important the USA is for us Europeans overall. We must first acknowledge that Warsaw will in future play an important role in the emerging new systemic conflict between Russia and the West. Poland will become the new frontline state, just like Germany during the Cold War. Washington, however, has no interest in seeing that state in conflict with Brussels and Berlin. In this respect, the US administration is advocating the greatest possible European and Western unity.
How can the alignment be improved here?
We need a genuine common European Eastern policy. This includes the EU’s enlargement policy as well as the Eastern Partnership. Talks with Poland, all other eastern EU states, but also France are necessary. That is why I propose reviving the format of the Weimar Triangle. For all issues concerning Ukraine, the Weimar Triangle could be expanded to include Ukraine.
The PiS, however, does not seem to have much interest in close cooperation with Germany.
It would depend on a try. As is well known, Polish elections are coming up this year. And Ukraine, which would certainly be very interested in this format, could influence Warsaw. Poland repeatedly states that it supports Ukraine’s EU aspirations. Here would be a useful platform.
How should German politics respond when voices criticizing Germany become louder in the Polish election campaign?
By not getting dragged into the election campaign. Keep cool. Germany has always been part of Polish internal politics. Even in Germany, election campaigns are not necessarily an exercise in nuance.
Should Berlin also stay out of the dispute between the EU Commission and Warsaw over judicial reform and frozen EU funds?
In any case, we should be careful not to bilateralize this dispute between Poland and the EU Commission. It concerns fundamental values, there are corresponding rulings of the European Court of Justice, decisions of the Commission and long discussions in the EU Council of Ministers. We should push to resolve the conflict and there are first signs that this could succeed.
In your book, you are quite outspoken for a diplomat. You recount confidential conversations with Polish politicians. Why?
I believe you have to be frank from time to time, especially as a representative of a think tank, the German Council on Foreign Relations, which I have served as vice president for more than two years. And some of the anecdotes may be quite interesting for the reader. Overall, I have restrained myself and continue to do so.
Rolf Nikel, born in 1954, began his career at the German Foreign Office in 1980. He was a staff member in the embassies of the Soviet Union, Kenya and France before being appointed ambassador to Poland in 2014. During his 40-year career in the diplomatic service, he worked for a total of 14 years in the German Chancellery for Chancellors Helmut Kohl, Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel. He has been vice president of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) since June 2020.
The EU is keen to get to the bottom of it. By February 17, online platforms and online search engines that offer their services in the EU were required to disclose their user numbers. But not all of them wanted to go into detail. While Google specified its user figures down to the 100,000 mark, companies like Amazon or Apple merely said whether they were above or below the 45 million user threshold. But that simply will not suffice for the Commission. “That’s not enough. A number is a number.,” Commission spokesman Johannes Bahrke tweeted. “We call on those platforms that haven’t done so yet to publish their numbers rapidly!”
The background to the census is the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which has been in force since November 16, 2022. Very large service providers are bound by stricter rules, which include the implementation of a code of conduct. Very large online platforms (VLOPs) or very large online search engines (VLOSE) are those that have more than 45 million active users in the EU, which corresponds to around ten percent of the EU population. Once the Commission has designated the respective companies, they have four months to implement the applicable provisions under the DSA. Violations may result in fines of up to six percent of annual sales.
The Commission’s guidance does state that providers must “must make that information publicly available, by publishing it on their online interface” But it does not specify that this information must be easy to find or published under a specific section. So it takes some investigative skills to find the relevant information. Some published the figures in their legal notice, like the online marketplaces Otto.de, Kaufland.de or Zalando, others provide detailed information like Google or Snapchat.
The following 19 platforms belong to the companies that claim to be VLOPs or VLOSEs because they have published corresponding figures:
The German online retailer Zalando states on its website that the overall platform – i.e. including third-party vendors – has 83.34 million users. Of these, 30.84 million would directly use the services of the provider itself. This makes Zalando the only German platform that is likely to come under the direct supervision of the Commission.
This is because the Commission will assume direct supervision of companies that are VLOPs and VLOSEs. For all other platforms and search engines, the EU member states themselves are responsible, and they must appoint digital service coordinators (DSCs) for this purpose by February 17, 2024. From that point on, even platforms with fewer than 45 million active users will have to comply with all DSA regulations.
Germany has yet to appoint a coordinator. The prime candidate is the Federal Network Agency. However, in response to a query on Friday, the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport neither confirmed nor denied that this decision had already been made. The Digital Services Act, the German implementation law for the DSA, which will officially appoint the German coordinator, is still in the works.
The law is expected to come into force on January 1, 2024. Therefore, government circles consider it a matter of weeks rather than months when the ministry will present the draft law. The coordination with the German federal states could turn out to be difficult: Most recently, they insisted on the supervisory sovereignty of the states and the non-governmental nature of media supervision under the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).
In the opinion of Julian Jaursch of the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, the question of how the coordinator works is at least as important as who becomes the German coordinator. “Regardless of who ultimately takes on the task, it is important that we have a public debate about what we expect from this coordinator,” says the project manager for platform regulation at the Berlin-based think tank. Accordingly, discussion points should include:
“If you think about it early on, it can only have advantages,” says Jaursch. In any case, the coordinator’s task should not be underestimated, he believes. After all, even platforms that have fewer than 45 million monthly users must comply with the DSA’s regulations. And here the member states are responsible for penalizing any violations. “That’s why it would be good if Germany set up a strong coordinator with sufficient resources, expertise and powers,” advises Jaursch.
From a consumer perspective, Martin Madej, Digital and Media Officer at the Federation of German Consumer Organisations, welcomes the new European law. “It’s good that the rights of users are now enshrined, putting an end to a lot of arbitrariness.” The EU has set standards and established procedures, and the important thing now, he said, is to create clear structures. “Consumers need a simple and easy-to-use system,” he said, adding that it was now important to create clear structures. “Consumers need a simple and low-threshold procedure to be able to assert their rights,” says Madej. “They should not get lost somewhere in the jungle of jurisdictions. We need a front office they can turn to. What then happens in the back office, can be highly complex, but that’s exactly what the coordinator does. That’s what we need to create.”
On Friday, the EU Commission also launched a public consultation on DSA enforcement procedures. It closes on March 16.
How are religions viewed in Europe? Which initiatives in Germany and other countries focus on Islam, for example? How does politics deal with Muslims and representatives of other faiths? These are some of the questions Tomáš Sacher would like to address together with the Narrative Change Academy of the Young Islam Conference. “With this new project by the foundation, we are working with young people from three European countries on the topic of Islam in Europe and want to contribute to a constructive debate culture,” explains the 39-year-old.
He also wants to strengthen cooperation with European partners through other programs of the Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe, of which Sacher has been managing director since January 1. “In the Understanding Europe education project, for example, we are trying to reach young people in smaller towns away from the big cities, who normally give little thought to their European identity,” he explains.
Tomáš Sacher is originally from the Czech Republic and has been living in Berlin with his German wife for more than years. Their four children are not only growing up speaking German and Czech but are also learning English at bilingual schools, as well as some Spanish and French. Their eldest son is currently spending an Erasmus semester in Prague.
The Schwarzkopf Foundation offers the family man the opportunity to live the European idea every day in the workplace as well: The approximately 50 employees come from a wide variety of European countries, some of them also live abroad, and participate in meetings via video link. The week-long sessions of the European Youth Parliament are held twice a year – and always at different locations.
Tomáš Sacher has also always sought ways to strengthen cohesion in society at the European level during his previous professional posts. Most recently, he headed the international cultural program of the Czech EU Council Presidency. Before that, Sacher, who holds a Ph.D. in media and communication studies, served as president of the European Union National Institutes for Culture and as director of the Czech Center Berlin.
After graduating, he spent two years traveling through European countries as a presenter and journalist. Among other things, he reported on the Ukrainian presidential election and the Maidan protests 13 years ago for a major Czech weekly newspaper – an experience that also shaped his view of the current war. “In Ukraine, I met people who were willing to sacrifice everything for their chance at a future in Europe,” he says. He now sees the Russian war in Ukraine as a wake-up call to all politically active people in Europe: “We must defend the goals we have already achieved.” Janna Degener-Storr
