AACHEN, Germany (MNI) – Europe needs to create a political union
now, Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Thursday as he
received the prestigious Charlemagne Prize for furthering European
unification.
“We now must create a political union in Europe,” Schaeuble said,
adding that the European Commission should be developed into a European
government.
While we do not want a European super-state, “now we need strong,
functioning…European institutions,” Schaeuble said. This will only
happen step-by-step, but policy-makers must now think of how to further
strengthen common institutions and responsibilities, he said.
In particular, Schaeuble noted that the common monetary policy must
be complemeted by more closely coordinated economic and fiscal policies.
Last year, former European Central Bank President Jean-Claude
Trichet had used the award ceremony to launch a call for a common
European finance ministry.
Schaeuble also reiterated his call for a directly elected European
President.
–Frankfurt newsroom +49 69 72 01 42; e-mail: jtreeck@marketnews.com
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