The issue with Greece has been a drag on the German economy as the country has not only been forced to bail out Greece but has also had to deal with the negative effects that the ongoing uncertainty has created. Germany has done its best under the circumstances to minimize the damage created by Greece (Irwin, 2015)
The fallout could spread to BMW and Daimler as well. This threat to a major industry represents a substantial threat to the German economy as a whole, because automobiles are worth $225 billion in exports for Germany (Nienaber, 2015)
Volume is growing even faster, which indicates that the industry is healthy, but that price growth is being constrained either by competition or by the general struggles of the German economy. Nevertheless, there is reason for optimism that Germany's housing market is stronger than the economy overall, something that should encourage Toll Brothers (Gorning & Micholson, 2015)
Germany's position in the EU as a major leader and representative of the Union is now being tested. The EU has always attempted to maintain the appearance of being a legitimate body of government by adopting such values as that stated in Article I-2 of its constitution: "The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, liberty, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights" (Elgstrom, Smith, 2006, p
Now, as news of violence on both sides of the crisis spreads, questions are being asked about whether this inflow of migrants into the country is a good thing, morally speaking. Turner (2016) of The Wall Street Journal reports that public support for Angela Merkel and her open borders policy is turning, now that migrant attacks on Germas, rapes, and sexual assaults are becoming more commonplace (Kern, 2016)
Thus, what has led to the decision to accept so many migrants in Germany is the open borders initiative, which Merkel has often and loudly promoted in Europe. Germany's stance is situated within the larger context of the various treaties established by the EU over the years, such as the Masstricht Treaty and the Treaty of Nice, as these have both been used to make the fundamental structure and interconnectedness of the EU more concrete manifest (Phinnemore, 2007, p
Nonetheless, with so many laws and conflicting aims of federal and state-level constitutions, confusion reigns. Thym (2008) notes that the ECHR has provided guidance on how the "private life" of migrants should be respected and how their autonomous rights should be protected: according to Article 8, the ECHR "widens the reach of human rights law to the legal conditions for leave to remain, effectively granting several applicants a human right to regularize their stay" (Thym, 2008, p
Turner (2016) reports that "today, the hospitality is wearing thin" and indicate the welcoming mood of Germans to the Syrians fleeing the Middle East war zones has soured. "As hundreds more arrive each day, Germans worry the influx will permanently change their towns and seed crime or terror" (Turner, 2016)
Merkl proclaimed in 2010 that multiculturalism had "utterly failed" in Germany and that more had to be done by immigrants to integrate themselves into German society, echoing the paradoxical position of Stoiber (Weaver, 2010). Six years later, Merkl would still be talking about the need for a "frank talk about integration" even as she continued to push for open borders throughout the EU and for a greater welcome of refugees from the catastrophic war in Syria and immigrants from Turkey, cited by complaining Germans as being the cause of "assaults," "rapes," and other acts of violence (Neo, 2016)
Conditions have changed so much in the past 16 years, in fact, that the debate about immigration/integration has almost reached an absurdist crescendo, beginning with Bavarian Premier and Christian Social Union leader Edmund Stoiber attempting to maintain some kind of balance between past calls for acceptance and present cries for fences and walls: "Yes to openness and tolerance, no to Islamist head scarves," Stoiber said (DW Staff, 2004). Merkl proclaimed in 2010 that multiculturalism had "utterly failed" in Germany and that more had to be done by immigrants to integrate themselves into German society, echoing the paradoxical position of Stoiber (Weaver, 2010)