Germany Urges EU Reforms following Brexit

Local Editor

Senior German officials called for changes to decision-making processes in the EU after Britons decided to leave the bloc in a shocking referendum.

Last week, a newspaper said post-Brexit concerns prompted EU leaders to draw up a controversial plan aimed at morphing the remaining member states into a giant "super state."

On Sunday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble urged the bloc to take an "intergovernmental approach" in dealing with problems when they see that the European Commission does not tackle the issues.

"If the Commission doesn't get involved, then we should take the matter into our own hands and solve problems between governments," he said in an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

Schaeuble criticized the EU for taking too long to make decisions on the refugee crisis last year, while denying that he aimed at weakening the European Commission.

German Minister of Economy Sigmar Gabriel questioned the size of the EU budget and called on the bloated bloc to scale back on unnecessary bureaucracy.

In an interview with the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung newspaper, Gabriel also called on Brussels to slash unaccountable and unselected commissioners.

"A Europe in which 27 Commissioners want to prove themselves doesn't make sense. It would be good to downsize in this respect," he said, accusing the union of "petty" involvement in issues that could be better dealt by municipalities or states.

For his part, European Parliament President Martin Schulz, also a German, said that the commission should be changed into "a real European government" operating under the supervision of the European Parliament.

He also said that a second chamber, made up of representatives of 27 member states, should further control the commission.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team