“We need more Europe”—Merkel

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has said the euro zone was moving inevitably towards a “political union,” requiring countries to cede more sovereignty and leading to more of a multi-speed Europe, with non-euro states in the slow lane. “We need more Europe, we need not only a monetary union, but we also need a so-called fiscal union, in other words more joint budget policy,” according to Merkel.
She emphasised that a political union was also necessary. “And we need most of all a political union—that means we need to gradually give competencies to Europe and give Europe control,” she said. “Whoever is in a currency union will have to move closer together. We have to be open to make it possible for everyone to participate. But we cannot stand still because some do not want to go with us,” she said.
Most EU officials see the process of integration taking five to ten years at best, much longer than the view of the markets. According to the president of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, the aim is to have detailed proposals in October.
Merkel’s push for greater EU integration also underlined a growing rift with our major trading partner, Britain, which said that it would not take any part in a euro-zone banking union as envisaged by the ECB and the Commission. The chancellor of the exchequer (finance minister), George Osborne, told BBC Radio: “There is no way that Britain is going to be part of any euro-zone banking union.

Euro-federalists on the march!

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has suggested that there may need to be a change in EU treaties to ensure fiscal discipline in the euro zone.

“There is no rule so far to force the countries to comply with the Stability and Growth Pact,” she said. “Therefore, treaty changes must not be a taboo in order to achieve more commitment.”

She was supported by the Italian minister for foreign affairs, Franco Frattini, who said: “Different countries have different views on European federalism, but Italy is ready to give up all the sovereignty necessary to create a genuine European central government. We must work seriously towards the formation of a genuine European economic government.”

The chairperson of the Euro Group, Jean-Claude Juncker, joined the chorus, saying, “I wouldn’t exclude a treaty change in the coming months. In Germany there’s a growing awareness that treaty changes have to be envisaged.”

He added that a change in the treaties could help the euro zone become more flexible and respond better to any future crisis.

Juncker is considering putting forward a proposal for a permanent head of the Euro Group, meaning that he would concentrate on his role as prime minister of Luxembourg. And the outgoing managing director of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, chipped in, telling participants at a Paris conference that the bloc required a European “federal government with a federal finance minister.”

The reprobate warmongering Green, Joschka Fischer, capped it all, saying that “we need to hand over budget prerogatives to the EU . . . We need similar pension ages . . . We are going to have to draw all the threads together . . . [and] future integration steps need a political Europe."

The British chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, seems to agree. “I think it is on the cards that there may be a treaty change imposed in the next year or two,” he said, to “further strengthen fiscal integration” in the euro zone.

It appears that a proposal will be tabled next month that would see negotiations over an EU treaty change launched as early as December.

Watch out! The Euro-federalists are on the march.

Euro rebellion heats up in Germany

 For the first time ever, a clear majority (60 per cent) of Germans no longer see any benefits in being part of the euro zone, given all the risks, according to an opinion poll published on 16 September. In the age group 45–54 this jumps to 67 per cent. And 66 per cent reject aiding Greece and other heavily indebted countries.

Ominously for the chancellor, Angela Merkel, 82 per cent believe that the government’s crisis management is bad, and 83 per cent complain that they’re kept in the dark about the politics of the euro crisis.