GERMANY’S RULING Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has called for a radical overhaul of European institutions, including the direct election of the next European Commission president “to give the EU a face”.
Delegates at the CDU party conference in Leipzig backed German chancellor Angela Merkel’s call for far-reaching EU treaty change to give Brussels greater oversight of national budgets. But they insisted that any talks on closer integration should proceed by the “community method”.
“This ensures . . . democratic legitimacy and transparency,” read the final resolution.
All future deals agreed between member states, the CDU added, “must be anchored in treaties in the medium term”.
That was seen a setback for Dr Merkel, who is seen to be distrustful of EU institutions. She has made the case for intergovernmental deals as the most effective way of addressing the euro zone crisis.
Smaller member states have watched this development with concern, fearing such deals undermine the European Commission and reduce the chances of their voices being heard in Brussels.
CDU delegates proposed that the EU should in future have a two-chamber system of equal strength: the parliament and the European Council, where national leaders meet. The distribution of MEP mandates should, in the medium term, be adjusted to “more closely reflect population strength”.
Ending the two-day Leipzig conference, the CDU called for the next European parliamentary elections to feature “frontrunners” from all the parliamentary groupings. “Increasing the European idea in people’s minds requires political identification figures,” the party agreed.
Party delegates backed Dr Merkel’s proposal for a limited minimum wage, giving her a choice of potential coalition partners after the 2013 general election.
As well as tighter budgetary oversight, CDU delegates suggested provision should be made in the future to allow euro zone members to leave the currency union voluntarily.
The Leipzig resolutions are far-reaching and strengthen Dr Merkel’s hand in the next round of EU negotiations. But for now at least, they are strictly CDU rather than German coalition policy.
CDU parliamentary leader Volker Kauder said Berlin would not let Britain block plans for a financial transaction tax in the EU.
British prime minister David Cameron, meanwhile, rejected as “utopian” yesterday German calls for a closer political union.