German Chancellor Merkel says European debt crisis must lead to closer political union

German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted Monday that Europe’s debt crisis has shown that the bloc’s leaders must now press for a genuine political union.

The debt crisis has exposed the structural flaws of Europe’s monetary union and forced leaders into taking unprecedented steps toward a fiscal and a political union, she said. “In my opinion it is the great task of the coming years to move forward on the path of a political union,” Merkel said in Berlin.
Initiatives like the 17-nation eurozone’s new permanent bailout fund, the €500 billion ($650 billion)

European Stability Mechanism, would have been inconceivable three years ago, she added.

For more: German Chancellor Merkel says European debt crisis must lead to closer political union - The Washington Post