The European Union needs to become more integrated with a common finance policy and a central government, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Wednesday (16 May).
“I would be for the further development of the European Commission into a government. I am for the election of a European president, he said at an event in Aachen, reports Reuters.
He said this is a longterm response to the current eurozone crisis, which many have said has been exacerbated by the fact that the EU lacked the tools – such as a central transfer system – to effectively deal with it.
“We certainly won’t manage it in this legislative period,” said Schauble referring to the creation of a finance ministry but noted that for a currency union, a part of finance policy needs to be harmonised.
That should be the “lesson” learned from the current crisis.
He said he wants to widen citizens participation in EU politics beyond voting for MEPs to voting for the president of the European Commission, noting that the recent French presidential elections, including a three-hour TV debate between the two candidates, attracted interest far beyond the country’s borders.
via EU Observer
// Photo – Håkan Dahlström