German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin, Monday, and the two agreed that reforms in the EU were necessary. The two leaders said they were open to the idea of changing some European treaties aimed primarily at reforming the operation of the Eurozone. Mrs. Merkel said that from a German perspective it would be possible to alter some EU agreements while speaking to reporters. “I would be read to such a move, but we would first have to work on what we wanted to reform”; she underlined.
On his part, Emmanuel Macron stressed there were no “taboo” subjects. Both agreed to lay out an interim road map with the purpose of deepening EU integration to render the common currency union more resilient in future crises. During their joint press conference, the German Chancellor said Germany would only prosper if France was a string member of the union.
Mr. Macron expressed his opposition to the prospect of the EU adopting a common Euro-bond and sharing older Eurozone debts, adding however, that he would not object to such a mechanism being implemented in the future. The French President is scheduled to meet with his newly appointed PM Edouard Philippe at the Elysee Palace to discuss the formation of the new cabinet.
