Merkel calls for 'new foundation' for Europe
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a “new foundation” for the European Union, a fresh beginning that convinces ordinary people that further integration and expansion benefits them.
“We must put the citizens first,” she said during a speech on European integration to the German parliament in Berlin.
It must be clear to people “that Europe makes things better”.
Some people have doubts about the superiority of Europe’s welfare state economies, and “that is the great challenge before which we stand”, she said.
Merkel reiterated her support for a new European constitution, which has stalled after being rejected in referendums in France and the Netherlands.
She seemed to endorse a reference in any European constitution to the continent’s Christian roots, a controversial idea rejected by the drafters of the recent failed proposal.
Merkel said Bulgaria and Romania, set to enter the EU in 2007 or 2008, would “clearly” become members, but added that membership talks were a “two-way street” and that potential new members such as Croatia and Turkey would have to meet all requirements.
