Looking for Nordic allies. The interest of the Kohl government in enlarging the European Community to the north 1985–1992

Abstract

ABSTRACT The reunification of Germany positioned the country back to its dominant place in the middle of Europe. Anchoring Germany in the European Community and deepening European integration became the guiding principles of the Chancellor of Germany, Helmut Kohl, who wanted to ease the suspicions related to the continuities of German foreign policy. The northern enlargement of the European Union belonged to this same dynamism. Even so, Mediterranean countries feared that the accession of the Nordic candidates to the organization would serve German interests. Despite the controversies, the support of the Kohl government for Finland, Norway and Sweden has not evoked scientific research. Based on archival sources in Berlin, this article analyses the northern dimension of Germany’s European policy. It argues that Bonn saw the Nordic countries as a building block in its eastern policy.