As Germany grappling with the double whammy of an economic crisis and political instability, all in the midst of a raging war in Ukraine: the German ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermanparticipated in a roundtable of TOI editors to discuss a range of bilateral and global issues. In a freewheeling conversation, he discussed the implications of Trump’s return for Europe and its likely impact on the war. Ackermann also addressed issues related to the tedious Schengen visa process and Germany’s efforts to attract more qualified professionals from India. Edited excerpts:
Ties with India
■ Bilateral relations are at an all-time high. I have never seen such close and differentiated relations between India and Germany. The new element is migration. And the second is that Germany has decided to become a stable security partner for India. So we just got the latest statistics on arms exports and India is ranked number 6 on the list, which is quite remarkable. Ukraine, of course, is number one, but that is not a normal arms production exchange. India is almost at the same level as the United States… That shows how the German government views the Indian partnership and how strategic it considers it.
Apart from that, we have a very, very strong business connection. We have more than 2,000 German companies in India and not only large ones, but also small and medium-sized companies that come here to try to unite mechanical production with digital solutions. We expect growth in bilateral economic relations, not least because we very actively encourage German companies to go places other than China.
‘We need qualified professionals’
■ Germany urgently needs qualified labor. We have changed our laws and I would say that Germany currently has the most liberal immigration laws. And that’s a big difference between Germany and most other Western countries, including the United States. We have a big disadvantage: the language. But I think we have a certain advantage compared to other countries. And that would lead to an increase in the Indian community in Germany. We have around 260,000 Indians in Germany and that number will increase in the coming years. We have good cooperation not only with the central government but also with the state governments.
About the complex visa process
■ I completely understand that the procedure (to obtain a Schengen visa) is considered humiliating. (But) in the US, for a long-term visa, they ask me if I have ever been a member of a terrorist organization! (Laughs) Schengen rules are the same everywhere. There is no difference between Germany, Luxembourg, Estonia, Spain and Portugal. There are decisions taken in Brussels and those decisions are relatively rigid.
Now let me tell you that we are doing 200,000 visas a year with an increase of 10% to 15% a year. Europe does not have 10-year visas but we have five-year visas. We are very generous with long-term multiple entry visas. I recommend everyone to attach a letter with their application form stating that they want a long-term visa. It’s not a category you can click on, but if you say you want to go multiple times, our visa section will be happy to grant you a long-term visa. We will digitize our visa procedure to make it easier. I think next year we will see a lot more progress. And we must not forget that the waiting period for our visas is now four weeks. We want Indians to come to Europe.
About Indian democracy
■ I am convinced that Indian democracy works quite well. Look at the Lok Sabha elections…people know exactly what they are voting for and why. When I talk to an autowallah from Delhi, he tells me that he votes for (Arvind) Kejriwal in the state elections and (Narendra) Modi in the national elections. There is a polarization in India. But look at the other side of the world. Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands have governments with right-wing parties, which we would never have thought possible. So, polarization is a somewhat global phenomenon… Solutions can only come from within, not from without. I am very encouraged by the strength of civil society here.
German political crisis
■ After the fall of the coalition, there is now a very clear path to new elections. So, on February 23 we will have our elections, six months ahead of schedule. There are two major parties: the Conservative Party under
a candidate who is running for a government position for the first time, Friedrich Merz, and the current chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who wants to win a second term. If we look at the current (opinion) polls, the conservative candidate has between 30% and 34% support. The Social Democrats are in the 15-16% range and the Greens a little less, maybe 11-14%. And then there is this right-wing party in Germany, AfD. They are nationally between 16-18%. But then it’s pretty safe to say they won’t play any role in the new government. There is a firewall in German (politics): this party cannot be part of any government.
Trump and Europe
■ I think we have at least a little experience of how our American friends will govern now and we are prepared. There is no doubt that times will be more difficult for us than under Biden, who was very pro-European and Germanophile. But I think from what we’ve seen from Trump, it’s possible to deal with a Trump administration and find solutions with it.
Is an agreement between Trump and Putin possible?
■ We would be beyond thrilled if this war ended today and not tomorrow. It is very expensive for everyone. I’ve read that the Russians are losing up to 1,500 soldiers a day, and I’m not sure about the Ukrainians. It is an absurd and senseless war. Now, I would say that any agreement should include, first and foremost, Ukraine. So is it possible that we accept a Trump-Putin deal that excludes Ukraine? I would say no. I think Trump will also reach out to Ukraine. If you make a deal with Russia and Ukraine that both sides can live with or agree to something, why shouldn’t we accept it? The crucial point is the participation and acceptance of Ukrainians.
About competition with China
■ The Germans were always very good with the production of machinery. And what we see now in China is that they are good and cheaper. So in machinery production, the Chinese have really caught up in a big way… The German car producers really benefited in the last 15 to 20 years because they sold a lot of cars in China. But that is no longer the case. So, we are facing a certain economic crisis.
I wouldn’t call it a complete crisis because we have some growth, but the growth is not good enough. And there are many reasons for this. We have increasing competition with China and, to some extent, also with the United States. Another reason, of course, is energy insecurity after what happened in Ukraine. Electricity in Germany is currently reasonably priced. It’s not as volatile as it was after the invasion. We are in the middle of an energy transformation where 60% of our electricity comes from renewable energy. Sometimes there is no wind or sun, and then prices rise for an hour and then fall. So, it’s a new energy system, which is good but poses some challenges.