UPDATE - German chancellor outlines his vision for new European Union

UPDATES WITH MORE COMMENTS FROM GERMAN CHANCELLOR

BERLIN (AA) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday outlined his vision for a new European Union, calling for much greater unity among European states against Russia.

Delivering a keynote speech at a university in Prague, Scholz condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine, saying it also targets the EU and its democratic ideals.

“Our Europe is united in peace and freedom, it’s open to all European nations who share our values,” he stressed, calling for a more strategic approach to EU enlargement taking into account the geopolitical realities.

“Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and down the line also Georgia; and of course, the six countries of the Western Balkans, they belong to us, they are part of free and democratic Europe. Their EU membership is in our interest,” he said.

The German chancellor also called for institutional reforms to make the EU a key player in international politics, which would be capable of taking “pragmatic” decisions and “swift” actions.

“The European Union with 30 or 36 members will look different from today’s union,” he said.

Instead of unanimity, Scholz proposed “majority voting” on various policy issues.

He said reforming decision-making procedures would prevent the EU from being blocked by a single country’s veto.

“I have therefore proposed a gradual transition to majority voting on various areas, such as common foreign policy and tax policy, knowing that this would also have repercussions for Germany,” he said.

- Commitment to EU enlargement

Scholz expressed support for French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to create a European Political Community, but underlined that this new forum cannot be an alternative to the EU membership of candidate countries.

“Such a grouping is not an alternative to the upcoming process of EU enlargement, and it is very important for me to emphasize this once again,” he said.

“We have given our word to the candidate countries, and in the case of the countries of the Western Balkans that was almost 20 years ago. These words must be followed by deeds.”