During a speech on the future of Europe delivered in Prague on Monday August 29, the German Chancellor reaffirmed his support for French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to create a “European political community”. Olaf Scholz also pledged to support EU enlargement.
” The fact that the EU continues to expand towards the east is an advantage for all of us “, Argued on Monday the German Chancellor during a speech on the future of Europe delivered in Prague. Olaf Scholz pleaded for an enlargement of the European Union to the Western Balkan states “, as well as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Olaf Scholz went so far as to mention ” a European Union of 30 or 36 States “, good “ different from our current Union “. “ The center of Europe is moving east “, he estimated.
Majority rather than unanimity on taxation and diplomacy
In this future configuration, the operating rules will necessarily have to evolve, according to the Chancellor. ” In this enlarged Union, the differences between the Member States will increase in terms of political interests, economic power or social systems. “, he detailed. “ Ukraine is not Luxembourg. And Portugal does not look at the challenges of the world in the same way as North Macedonia “, he described. Thereby, ” where unanimity is required today, the risk of a single country preventing all the others from advancing with its veto increases with each new Member State “, argued the German Chancellor.
“ That is why I have proposed a gradual move to majority decision-making in common foreign policy, but also in other areas, such as fiscal policy “Explained the German Chancellor, not hiding that” this would also have consequences for Germany “. For him, “ sticking to the principle of unanimity only works as long as the pressure to act is low. But this is no longer the case in view of the change of era provoked according to him by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Support for the project of a “European political community”
A possible enlargement would have repercussions on the composition of the European Parliament, according to him. On the other hand, he says he remains committed to the principle of one European commissioner per country. Olaf Scholz further reiterated his support for Emmanuel Macron’s proposal for a “European political community”. Within this new forum, we would discuss once or twice a year the central themes that concern our continent as a whole: security, energy, climate or connectivity “, he said.
(with AFP)