Merkel’s successor responds to Macron’s Europe vision

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s anointed successor outlined her vision for Europe, a German paper reported on Saturday, aligning with recent French proposals on security but disagreeing on key social issues.

CDU party chief Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the likely future conservative candidate for the chancellery, sets out her vision in an article published in the Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The paper released extracts on Saturday. Her response to recent proposals from French President Emmanuel Macron includes a call for a banking common market and a pan-European climate pact.

“Our Europe must become stronger” said the politician often known simply as AKK, as European figures grapple with rising protectionist and nationalist forces. Her comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron set out his ideas for Europe’s future, in an opinion piece published by several top European newspapers Monday.

MORE: https://www.thelocal.fr/20190310/merkels-successor-responds-to-macrons-europe-vision