Merkel calls for unity and reforms from EU

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has called on the European Union to unite in the face of wars and crises, as well as the protectionist policies of US President Donald Trump, as she also encouraged reforms.

Merkel said that when she sees how Europe is struggling geopolitically with Russia, "with different ideas from our friends in the United States of America" or with China, she thinks, "What can a single member state of the European Union achieve there?"

The former leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party was speaking in Berlin at a symposium of the CDU-affiliated Konrad-Adenauer Foundation (KAS) on the EU's Lisbon Treaty.

"We are all, even the largest economically Germany, completely alone in the open field," Merkel added at the event in honour of the 80th birthday of the then-European Parliament president, and later KAS chairman, Hans-Gert Pöttering. "That's why Europe has become more important than one might think."

Merkel: Be careful not to become incapable of action

Against the backdrop of debates about EU reform, Merkel warned that those who bear political responsibility today must maintain the "fine balance between not too much regulation and a lot of regulation."

She said a disadvantage of the Lisbon Treaty is that a European Convention must be convened for major changes. "We must be careful, as the European Union, not to render ourselves incapable of action," she warned.

Merkel also criticized the fact that, while the European Parliament can remove the European Commission from office with a vote of no confidence, unlike national parliaments, no new elections would be necessary. "Chasing someone out of office and having no consequences oneself, I think, is an imbalance," she said.

'Treaty of Lisbon a triumph for parliamentarians'

The Lisbon Treaty was adopted in October 2007 during Pöttering's time as European Parliament president.

After the treaty was ratified by all 27 member states, it came into force on December 1, 2009.

Merkel said the European Parliament had gained significantly more opportunities as a result. She spoke of a "triumph for all parliamentarians," which will forever be associated with Pöttering's presidency.