德國對英國退歐立場趨于強硬

Germany has hardened its stance on Brexit as Theresa May, Britain’s prime minister, prepares to launch the historic exit negotiations tomorrow.

就在英國首相特里薩•梅(Theresa May)準備在明天啟動歷史性的退歐談判之際，德國收緊了對英國退歐的立場。

Chancellor Angela Merkel, who made accommodating noises after last summer’s referendum, has adopted a tough position on issues such as the UK’s exit bill and the sequencing of negotiations, partly in response to increasing expectations that Britain is seeking a hard Brexit.

曾在去年英國退歐公投后做出寬容表態(tài)的德國總理安格拉•默克爾(Angela Merkel)，在諸如英國退出賬單和談判順序等問題上采取了強硬的立場，這在一定程度上是在回應各方對于英國將尋求硬退歐的日益增強的預期。

“We have no interest in punishing the UK, but we also have no interest in putting European integration in danger over the UK,” Wolfgang Schäuble, the finance minister and Ms Merkel’s close ally, said in a recent FT interview.

德國財長、默克爾親密盟友沃爾夫?qū)?bull;朔伊布勒(Wolfgang Schäuble)最近在接受英國《金融時報》采訪時表示：“我們沒有興趣懲罰英國，但我們也無意在英國問題上讓歐洲一體化陷入危險。”

“That’s why our priority must be, with a heavy heart, to keep the rest of Europe — without the UK — as close together as possible.”

“這就是為什么我們的首要任務必須是：以沉重的心情，保持歐洲其他國家——在英國退出之后——盡可能緊密地團結(jié)在一起。”

The hardening mood in the EU’s most powerful state runs counter to hopes in London that Berlin would take a softer line because of pressure from the powerful car lobby, concerned about its sales and investments in the UK.

倫敦方面曾希望，由于強大的汽車業(yè)游說陣營(該陣營擔心其在英國的銷售和投資)的壓力，柏林方面將采取較溫和立場。但是，歐盟內(nèi)部最強大國家日趨強硬的情緒粉碎了英方的希望。

Instead, Germany’s political debate has become more fiercely pro-EU after the election as US president of Donald Trump, an enthusiastic supporter of Brexit, and the emergence of Martin Schulz, the Europhile former president of the European Parliament, as Ms Merkel’s main challenger in federal elections in September.

相反，在英國退歐積極支持者唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)當選美國總統(tǒng)，以及親歐的歐洲議會(European Parliament)前議長馬丁•舒爾茨(Martin Schulz)成為默克爾在今年9月的聯(lián)邦選舉中的主要挑戰(zhàn)者之后，德國的政治辯論已變得愈發(fā)強烈地親歐盟。

While the chancellor previously insisted she wished to keep Britain “as close as possible” to the EU, Berlin has now given priority to maintaining the EU’s fragile unity in the face of challenges including migration, eurozone economic tensions and populist attacks on the bloc from French and Polish nationalists.

盡管默克爾此前曾堅稱，她希望讓英國與歐盟“關(guān)系盡可能地密切”，但在面對種種挑戰(zhàn)(包括移民、歐元區(qū)經(jīng)濟緊張和法國及波蘭民族主義者對歐盟發(fā)起民粹主義攻擊)的情況下，柏林已優(yōu)先注重維護歐盟的脆弱團結(jié)。

Berlin backs the European Commission’s insistence that Britain’s exit terms must be negotiated before talks begin on any new relationship with the EU. Ms Merkel’s view is that agreement on exit must be struck in principle, probably in outline, before future arrangements are discussed.

歐盟委員會(European Commission)堅持必須先商定英國的退出條款、再啟動與歐盟任何新關(guān)系的磋商;柏林方面支持這一立場。默克爾的看法是，在討論未來安排之前，必須在原則上達成退出協(xié)議——很可能是以綱要形式。

This applies particularly to the UK’s exit bill, which the commission says may total €60bn. The German finance ministry said: “Any Article 50 agreement will have to include the UK’s assurances that it will honour the financial commitments it undertook as an EU member state.”

這一點尤其適用于英國的退出賬單，據(jù)歐盟委員會表示，這份賬單的總額也許高達600億歐元。德國財政部表示：“任何有關(guān)《里斯本條約》第50條(Article 50)的協(xié)議，都必須包括英國的保證，即英國將履行其作為歐盟成員國承擔的財政責任。”

Heribert Hirte, a legal expert for Ms Merkel’s Christian Democrats and member of the Bundestag EU affairs committee, said a breakdown over finances would “rule out any chance” of negotiating the future UK-EU relations agreement. Other German officials and politicians also highlight the obstacles to a mutually satisfactory deal. Detlef Seif, the CDU’s parliamentary Brexit spokesman, said: “We all see it’s going to be difficult. It would be a miracle if we got a good result.”

默克爾所在的基民盟(CDU)的法律專家、聯(lián)邦議院歐盟事務委員會成員黑里貝特•希爾特(Heribert Hirte)表示，財務談判的破裂將會“排除”談判達成未來英國-歐盟關(guān)系協(xié)議的“任何可能性”。其他德國官員和政治人物也強調(diào)了達成雙方都滿意的協(xié)議的障礙?；衩擞藲W事務議會發(fā)言人德特勒夫•賽夫(Detlef Seif)表示：“我們都明白這事將十分困難。能得到好的結(jié)果將是個奇跡。”

Norbert Spinrath, Brexit spokesman for Mr Schulz’s Social Democrats, said: “We expect the British to do the honourable thing. If they don’t, the EU can take them to the international courts.”

舒爾茨所在的社民黨(SPD)的英國退歐事務發(fā)言人諾貝特•施皮拉特(Norbert Spinrath)說：“我們期望英國人拿出高尚的行為。如果他們不這樣做，歐盟可以把他們告上國際法庭。”

The only party to welcome Brexit, the rightwing Alternative for Germany, has recently lost ground in polls.

唯一歡迎英國退歐的政黨、右翼的德國新選擇黨(Alternative for Germany)最近在民調(diào)中失利。

However, government and Bundestag representatives argue friendly relations with the UK must be maintained if possible, and so, as one quipped, “this unpleasant duty must be done well”.

然而，德國政府和德國聯(lián)邦議院(Bundestag)的代表們主張，在可能的情況下必須維持與英國的友好關(guān)系，正如其中一人的俏皮話所稱，“必須好好完成這項令人不快的任務”。