Merkel strikes reserved tone on Macron’s Europe plans

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck a more reserved tone on Monday with regard to French calls for deeper European integration, saying her party would support steps that made sense but also saying countries must become more competitive.
At a news conference a day after a German election which has forced her to consider a new coalition with a party that has been critical of French President Emmanuel Macron’s ideas on Europe, Merkel was asked how much scope she still had to compromise with Paris.
“I’m not going to rule out anything or set red lines,” she replied.
“The union (her conservatives) will support what makes sense. My view is that we can use more Europe, but this has to lead to more competitiveness, more jobs and more clout for the European Union.”
She alluded to a planned speech by Macron in Paris on Tuesday at which he is expected to flesh out his ideas to create a budget and finance minister for the euro zone, saying it was important to move beyond such buzzwords and talk about detail.
“It is not about the slogans but what lies behind them,” she said. “I am talking about this with the French president.”
Merkel has sent conciliatory signals to Macron since his victory in the French election in May. He ran on a pledge to “relaunch” Europe together with Berlin.
But her tone on Monday was more reserved, reflecting the difficulty she may face forging compromises with Macron in a new coalition.
Merkel said that Europe would play a role in looming coalition negotiations that are expected to last months, and that it would be important to sound out the Free Democrats (FDP), a business-friendly party that was critical of Macron’s ideas during the campaign.
The only obvious coalition option for Merkel, following a decision by her current partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), to go into opposition, is a three-way partnership with the FDP and the environmentalist Greens.
“Today is not the day to say ‘this works’ and ‘that doesn’t work’,” she said. “We will need to talk to the FDP.”
In Brussels, a spokesman for Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission chief, said he had urged Merkel to form a strong coalition government as soon as possible to help “shape the future” of the EU.
Juncker spoke by telephone to Merkel and wrote to her to congratulate on her “historic victory,” his spokesman Margaritis Schinas said.
“In the light of the important global challenges, Europe needs a strong German government now more than ever, one able to actively shape the future of our continent,” Schinas quoted Juncker as saying in the letter.
“And in his letter president Juncker expresses his belief that the negotiations on the coalition government will contribute to that effect.”
Germany is the EU’s most populous country and biggest economy, and Merkel has taken a leading role dealing with a series of crises from euro zone debt to Brexit.
Asked about the success in the election of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which became the third strongest party, Schinas said that “the commission has faith in democracy.”
Juncker stressed the “need to avoid complacency, distinguish between those questioning our policies from those who are simply out to destroy the EU, and the need to... face up to the populist discourse and explain Europe better,” Schinas said.
The success of the AfD comes just a week after Juncker used a flagship annual speech to say that Europe had the “wind in its sails” again and was moving on from the populist challenges of Brexit and the election of US President Donald Trump.