Tag: Merkel

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Social Democrat challenger in this month's German election clashed over the euro, tax policy and US spying in a television debate yesterday (1 September) that produced no clear winner.

Former German President Christian Wulff will go on trial in November on corruption charges, more than 18 months after the man once tipped as a successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel resigned from the largely ceremonial role in disgrace.

A political proposal to impose road tolls on foreign car drivers has become a feature of the German election campaign, but the European Commission made clear yesterday (12 August) that it would not accept any measure which amounts to discrimination on the ground of nationality. EurActiv Germany contributed to this article.

Croatia became the 28th member of the European Union today (1 July), a milestone capping the Adriatic republic's recovery from war but tinged with anxiety over its economy and the state of the bloc it joins.

Chancellor Angela Merkel could suffer an embarrassing defeat in the Bundestag on 18 April if members of her centre-right coalition break ranks and back an opposition bill requiring German companies to hire more women executives.

President François Hollande said yesterday (3 February) that France was keen to agree the European Union's 2014-2020 budget at a summit in Brussels later this week, but there was still much work to be done.

French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel made only brief references to the European Union in their New Year messages, with differing assessments of how successful attempts to overcome the eurozone crisis have been.

Germany's opposition Social Democrats (SPD) formally nominated former Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück yesterday (9 December) as their candidate to run for chancellor against Angela Merkel in next September's election.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday (1 November) issued a veiled reprimand to Britain and France for threatening to veto a deal on the European Union's long-term budget, a day after British Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed his promise to use Britain's veto if necessary.

Spain is ready to request a eurozone bailout for its public finances as early as next weekend but Germany has signalled that it should hold off, European officials said yesterday (1 October).

José Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy have already sketched out the broad outlines of an institutional architecture for the euro area that is sound in monetary matters but which needs to be further improved by combining effectiveness and legitimacy, writes António Vitorino.

It is doubtful that all 27 EU members can agree to start treaty negotiations within the next few years. But a smaller vanguard of member states could agree on treaty changes which could be adopted by the other partners later on, Thomas Fischer from the Bertelsmann Stiftung told EurActiv in an exclusive interview.

Angela Merkel and François Hollande presented a united front towards Greece yesterday (23 August), telling Athens it should not expect leeway on its bailout agreement unless it sticks to tough reform targets.

World leaders pressured Europe yesterday (18 June) to take ambitious steps to resolve its debt crisis after Sunday’s victory for pro-bailout parties in a Greek election failed to calm markets or ease worries that wider turmoil could derail the global economy.

French President François Hollande met yesterday (14 June) with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, making it clear he was building alliances with leaders in Rome and Madrid who back his challenge to German-imposed austerity.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has said he will propose a roadmap and "calendar" for more European integration at the next summit of EU leaders on 28-29 June, without discarding the possibility of a treaty change aimed at injecting more federalism into the Union.

European leaders have to understand that the greatest source of energy in the future will be learning how to use it more efficiently, say Sam Hägglund and Ulrich Paetzold.

The euro crisis brought Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy together. No matter who enters the Elysée Palace in May, Paris and Berlin will have to work much more closely on deciding Europe’s future, writes Judy Dempsey of Carnegie Europe.

Joachim Gauck, a former anti-Communist human rights activist in East Germany, is set to become the next German president - the third in less than two years - following the resignation on Friday of Christian Wulff amid accusations of impropriety.

EU leaders agreed yesterday (30 January) a treaty on tighter fiscal rules to preserve the eurozone from new crises. But the Czech Republic said it would not sign it for now due to ratification difficulties, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy said his country is unlikely to ratify before the 6 May presidential election.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday (14 November) that Europe could be living through its toughest hour since the second world war as new leaders in Italy and Greece rushed to form governments and limit the damage from the eurozone debt crisis.

EU leaders' decisions taken early on Thursday (27 October) were greeted with widespread relief across Europe, but the summit outcome was tempered by worries on the complexity of the deal. The EurActiv network reports from Europe's capitals.

In addition to the EU and eurozone twin summits on Sunday (23 October), another summit will take place "at the latest on Wednesday", France and Germany said yesterday (20 October) after a tense day of hesitation and conflicting announcements.