December 31, 2017

The current head of Germany's parliament opposed calls for reshaping the European Union into the so-called ‘United States of Europe’, claiming that the union should instead focus its efforts on European integration.

Wolfgang Schauble, a member of the German Christian Democratic Union party and President of the Bundestag, took a dim view of Social Democrats leader Martin Schulz’s call to transform the EU into a new entity with its own constitution, claiming that Europe requires a different approach.

"To say that one wants to create a United States of Europe within five years and that those states that don't go along will be thrown out seems a bit shortsighted, to put it politely," Schauble said, according to DW.

Instead, he argued, the EU should focus on European integration, claiming that while Europe does need to become stronger, this goal should be achieved via different methods, like the ones recently put forth by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201712311060441628-european-union-integration-alternative/