Merkel: EU States Have to Eat Humble Pie

Originally appeared at DWN, translated by John T. Sumner exclusively for SouthFront

Chancellor Merkel has prompted the EU countries to promise less and to deliver more. However, many of those problems, Merkel refers to, are not down to the EU as a whole, which is often used as a scapegoat in times of crisis, but they are due to the individual member states.

A few days ahead of the EU summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has demanded a faster and more consistent implementation of agreements within the Community.

According to Reuters, Merkel criticized in Berlin on Tuesday, that there would be many commitments inside the EU, simply not being kept by the individual governments.

For instance, not even a handful of EU countries would fulfill the voluntary agreement of spending three percent of their GDP on scientific research.

“This is why people do not believe in the European Idea anymore,” Merkel said. Therefore, the following motto would go for the meeting on Friday of next week in Bratislava: “Better to eat humble pie than to make empty promises without any practical consequences,” she said. Without participation of Britain the 27 EU states want to discuss consequences to be drawn by the Union from the British Brexit decision.

Concerning international competition, Merkel said that in the completion of the digital domestic market the EU could no longer afford years of debates, such as about the telecommunications packages. For instance, this would apply for the Europe-wide introduction of the new digital 5G communication standard, who would be of importance for companies. “Because the digital Europe is our life insurance for the work of the future.”