- On February 23, 2025, early elections to the Bundestag were held. The Christian Democratic coalition CDU/CSU won first place. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in second.
- The Greens – the party of Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister – lost 3.1 percentage points in these elections. Most likely, the CDU/CSU will not form a coalition with the Greens. This means the end of the current SPD–Green–FDP government.[1]
- Annalena Baerbock’s term is characterized by a firm and consistent stance on the war in Ukraine and by involving Poland in decision-making on European security.
- Under her leadership, the Weimar Triangle is being revived. This reflects the Green Party’s values of multilateralism, solidarity, and the promotion of human rights.
Annalena Baerbock is a leading German politician from the Green Party. From 2018 to 2022, she served as co-chair with Robert Habeck. Since December 8, 2021, she has been the first woman to hold the office of Foreign Minister in the Federal Republic of Germany.
From the start of her term, the German Foreign Minister has firmly condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine. She rejects any peace deal dictated by Russia. Her uncompromising stance on the Eastern war often clashes with Olaf Scholz’s “peace diplomacy.” Annalena Baerbock criticizes the Chancellor’s reluctance to approve an additional 3 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine.[2] In her view, especially after recent comments and actions by U.S. President Donald Trump, Europe must redefine its security policy and assume greater responsibility.
From the viewpoint of NATO’s eastern flank countries, Baerbock understands Russia’s policies and the resulting threats to Europe better than other members of the current governing coalition. However, she does not dismiss peaceful solutions. She stresses that peace cannot be set on the aggressor’s terms and must include security guarantees for Ukraine. In this context, she even considers stationing European, including German, troops along the front line.[3] She calls for deeper cooperation with France, the United Kingdom, and Poland to strengthen Europe’s security architecture.[4] She believes that achieving peace for Ukraine also means peace for Europe and for Germany. This demands both more military and financial resources. Therefore, she supports the European Commission’s proposal to allocate 800 billion euros for Europe’s defense.[5]
The German Foreign Minister visited Ukraine ten times and Poland six times. This shows her commitment to stabilizing the region and supporting NATO’s eastern flank.[6] In comparison, Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Poland and Ukraine together only three times. This highlights the difference in their approaches to the region.[7]
To address European security challenges, Germany’s domestic policy must change. One of Baerbock’s priorities is to reform the “debt brake” (Schuldenbremse). She believes that lifting budget constraints would be more effective than creating more special funds. In her view, such funds have limits and are insufficient to cover the Bundeswehr’s full needs, for example in fighting cyber threats.[8]
Baerbock’s Feminist Foreign Policy
As Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock offers a fresh approach that focuses on women’s rights and gender equality in politics and diplomacy. She sees this approach as a method to build more stable and just societies. Her Feminist Foreign Policy (Feministische Außenpolitik) moves away from traditional Realpolitik, emphasizing inclusivity and long-term systemic solutions. She believes this model guarantees peace and security. Under this vision, she proposes increasing the share of women in the German diplomatic service and embassies, aiming for 50% of managerial positions to be held by women by 2030.[9]
Revival of the Weimar Triangle
From the start of her term, Annalena Baerbock’s foreign policy has shifted toward European values. She demonstrates this by trying to revive the Weimar Triangle format, which she sees as a way to strengthen Germany’s position in the EU. On December 10, 2021, just two days after taking office, she met in Łódź with Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau and France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. She already stressed the need to coordinate policy toward the EU’s eastern neighbors in view of rising tensions with Russia.
A clear sign of the growing importance of the Polish–German–French trio was the meeting of the three foreign ministers on February 12, 2024, in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France. French Foreign Minister Stéphane Sejourné, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, and Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski declared their readiness to deepen trilateral cooperation. The main issue became strengthening European security, including the fight against Russian disinformation. As a result of the meeting, a special program was created to detect external disinformation attempts at an early stage. The ministers also expressed solidarity with Ukraine by introducing a new format of meetings, “Weimar + Ukraine.[10] These proposals would not have been possible without a strong shared commitment to European affairs by the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.
The next meeting took place in Weimar, where the Committee for Franco–German–Polish Cooperation was founded. It was the first meeting of the three countries’ foreign ministers in Germany since 2021. It underlines Annalena Baerbock’s firm attachment to European bonds. She sees the Weimar Triangle as a key tool to overcome divisions and crises in Europe. In Weimar, the ministers adopted the “Weimar Agenda for a Strong and Geopolitical EU,” giving top priority to supporting Moldova and Ukraine, strengthening defense cooperation, and fighting disinformation. Annalena Baerbock’s position is clear. In her view, the Weimar Triangle is a platform for promoting human rights and European solidarity, as well as a counterweight to the threat from Russia. She wants the Triangle to be the “driving force” for a common EU defense policy. Every meeting focuses on Ukraine’s support, which gives the format new momentum, visible in frequent meetings and concrete results.[11]
Summary
Annalena Baerbock remains faithful to Green Party values, combining idealism with determination. She firmly maintains a tough course on the war in Ukraine and supports strong action against human rights violations. She also supports the right of nations to self-determination. Thanks to her consistent stance on the war in Ukraine, human rights, and climate policy, she remains one of the best-rated politicians. Critics accuse her vision of lacking realism, but her numerous visits to Ukraine and Israel/Palestine show consistency in her actions. In the first case, she demonstrates solidarity with Ukraine. In the second, she emphasizes the right of Palestinians to self-determination. Focused on democratic values, she strengthens European ties in defense, counters hybrid threats, and fights disinformation. Annalena Baerbock gives new momentum to the Weimar Triangle, seeing it as a channel for building a strong and united Europe.
[1] Po wyborach w Niemczech: koalicja CDU/CSU–SPD z kanclerzem Friedrichem Merzem, OSW, 24.02.2025, https://www.osw.waw.pl/pl/publikacje/komentarze-osw/2025-02-24/po-wyborach-w-niemczech-koalicja-cdu/csu-spd-z-kanclerzem, [access: 06.03.2025]
[2] German foreign minister criticises Scholz for blocking more Ukraine aid, report says, Reuters, 17.01.2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-foreign-minister-criticises-scholz-blocking-more-ukraine-aid-report-says-2025-01-17/, [access: 07.03.2025]
[3] Politiker streiten über Ukraine, Sicherheit – und sogar über das Klima, Zeit Online, 20.02.2025, https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2025-02/schlussrunde-tv-debatte-ard-zdf-bundestagswahl-baerbock-lindner-weidel-wagenknecht?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3my0D6LvlHvor2Fxjd5Ej7TE5xGIwGGFJjqV978RhKv5NHSFPJToGfrf0_aem_3DD4SckAmF1j92CDYq9F_A, [access: 05.03.2025]
[4] Statement von Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock zur Unterstützung der Ukraine, YouTube, Phoenix, 01.03.25, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhYXYZB43EA, [access: 07.03.2025]
[5] Zahlreiche Staaten kritisieren Aussetzen der US-Ukrainehilfen, Zeit Online, 04.03.2025, https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2025-03/stopp-us-militaerhilfen-ukraine-reaktionen, [dostęp 05.03.2025]
[6] Reisen von Außenministerin Baerbock, Auswaertiges Amt, 05.03.2025, https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/aamt/reisen-von-aussenministerin-baerbock/reisen-liste, [access: 05.03.2025]
[7] Olaf Scholz -Terminkalender, 05.05.2025, https://www.bundeskanzler.de/bk-de/olaf-scholz/terminkalender-scholz, 05.05.2025, [access: 05.03.2025]
[8] Baerbock fordert deutsche Führung bei Unterstützung der Ukraine, Zeit Online, 01.03.2025, https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2025-03/ukraine-trump-baerbock-steinmeier-scholz-merz, [access: 05.03.2025]
[9] Feministische Aussenpolitik gestalten. Leitlinien des Auswärtigen Amts, https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/resource/blob/2585008/d444590d5a7741acc6e37a142959170e/ll-ffp-data.pdf, [access:17.03.2025]
[10] The Weimar Triangle: new-old cooperation horizon, Institute of Central Europe, 19.04.2024, https://ies.lublin.pl/en/comments/the-weimar-triangle-new-old-cooperation-horizon/, [access: 16.03.2025]
[11] Weimarer Dreieck: über 30 Jahre grenzüberschreitende Zusammenarbeit zwischen Deutschland, Frankreich und Polen, Auswärtiges Amt 05.02.2024, https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/aussenpolitik/europa/zusammenarbeit-staaten/weimarer-dreieck-node, [access: 16.03.2025]
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