” Europe is in one of its toughest, perhaps the toughest hour since World War Two. The challenge of our generation is to finish what we started in Europe, and that is to bring about, step by step, a political union,” Merkel told the party congress in the east German city of Leipzig. “It is time for a breakthrough to a new Europe. The task of our generation is to complete economic and monetary union, and build political union in Europe, step by step . . . That does not mean less Europe, it means more Europe.”
Merkel argued that Germany had a responsibility toward its partners and was vulnerable itself if other euro zone states were allowed to collapse, noting that 60 percent of German exports go to the European Union. “Irish problems are Slovak problems, Greek problems are Dutch problems and Spanish problems are our problem,” Merkel said. “Our responsibility does not end at our borders.”
Merkel said there were “red lines” Germany was not prepared to cross, rejecting joint euro zone bonds and other quick fixes which Germany believes could discourage euro states from running responsible fiscal policies. “The hard part is that this crisis was not created overnight. It is the result of decades of mistakes, and we can’t solve it in one fell swoop. We have a long, tough road ahead of us,” she said.
ONE TUSK 