The two fieedback loops illustrate how  the German attitude towards its EU partners has been affected by the reunification of West and East Germany that took place in October 1990. As depicted by the feedback loop 1, before the reunification Germany was anxious to maintain the good will of other partners within the European Union in order to minimize any opposition to, and to create a clilmate propitious to, a possible reunification. After the reunification, the need and driving force to make sacrifices to promote good will disappeared and a new assertive Germany emerged. This change of attitude has been reported on repeated occasions in the international press. Without doubt, this new assertive attitude will have a profound effect on the future development of the European Union.