June 5, 2018

Angela Merkel has backed calls from President Macron for deeper European economic and military ties, reforms seen in Paris as the EU’s last chance to prove it still matters after a populist surge across the continent.

The German chancellor, speaking days after the formation of a Eurosceptic government in Italy, pledged to support several of Mr Macron’s ideas, including a European Monetary Fund (EMF) to lend to struggling nations. Mrs Merkel, 63, also agreed that the eurozone needed its own budget, albeit a much smaller one than that envisaged by her French counterpart.

Her agreement in principle to greater integration, aired in a newspaper interview, marks what Paris hopes will be an historic turning point against the forces of populism in Europe. It will set the scene for a battle for the soul of the EU.

Read more:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/merkel-backs-macron-s-plan-to-rescue-the-eu-5fgkkn3tt