(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Senior
members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives have
rejected the vision for a United States of Europe put forward by the
Social Democrats (SPD), with whom they are hoping to form a governing
coalition.
SPD leader Martin Schulz said on Thursday that his party,
which suffered its worst post-war election result in September, would
only gain support by providing a clear vision of Europe, and called for a
'United States of Europe by 2025.
Merkel's conservatives, who lost
voters to the far-right due to their liberal migrant policy, want the
SPD to agree to a last-ditch alliance with them after talks on a tie-up
with two smaller parties collapsed.
Discussions on maintaining the
alliance that has governed Germany since 2013 are due to start on
Wednesday but the two parties look set to clash over the issue of
Europe, which is likely to play a key role in talks.
Senior
conservative Volker Kauder said that Schulz's European proposal posed 'a
danger to the EU and citizens' approval of Europe and Peter Altmaier,
Merkel's chancellery chief, said that the idea, and especially the
timeframe, was unrealistic.
An Emnid poll for Bild newspaper found
less than one-third of Germans (30%) supported Schulz's idea while
almost half (48%) rejected it.
Kauder told the Tagesspiegel newspaper
that it was necessary to strengthen Europe but also important to
recognise that at the moment people longed for the 'reliability that
they believe they can find in national states.
He added: 'The
proposal would also jeopardise the work of unification that is unique in
the history of the world because the majority of member states
certainly wouldn't participate in creating a united states.
Altmaier
told the Rheinische Post newspaper that Schulz's proposal had surprised
him and it would be better to tackle specific problems in Europe such
as unemployment, the protection of external borders and co-ordination of
economic policy.
'The discussion about whether Europe should be a
federal state, confederation or a united states is one for academics and
journalists - not for German foreign policy, Altmaier said.
'A
United States of Europe would transfer member states' sovereignty to
Brussels and there would not be a majority for that in many EU states,
he added.
Merkel has also been sceptical, saying on Thursday that she
would rather concentrate on more co-operation in defence by 2025, on
employment and on innovation.
However, the SPD defended Schulz's
plan, with Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel telling Deutschlandfunk radio
that it would ensure Europe's voice is heard on the global stage at a
time when the influence of Asia, Latin America and Africa is growing.
The
SPD is stressing that the outcome of talks with the conservatives is
still open but Schulz said yesterday that if the SPD had the chance to
prevent old-age poverty, improve nursing care and affordable housing, it
needed to take that opportunity.
Kauder said the conservatives would
go into talks prepared to make compromises but added his party had some
'absolutely key demands like capping migration and suspending the
right to family reunions for asylum-seekers with only subsidiary
protection.
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