The leaders of Germany and France said on Tuesday they are ready to press ahead with deeper European integration, promising a tighter eurozone at the core of the European Union shaken by Britain’s vote to leave.
French President Emmanuel Macron, elected in May on a pro-EU platform, said he wanted to strengthen Europe’s single currency union in light of Brexit and pledged to announce proposals after Germany’s election on Sept. 24, Reuters reported.
“This is a revamp that we need,” he told an annual assembly of French ambassadors in Paris, promising “concrete steps in around 10 areas” and adding that the EU could not afford to “get stuck in routine or technocratic quarrels”.
“Brexit should not take up all our energy,” he added as British and European Commission officials hold a third round of talks this week on Britain’s departure from the EU.
In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met Macron on Monday, endorsed the idea of a European Monetary Fund and said she could imagine creating a combined European finance and economy minister.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints