Angela Merkel to deliver address on the future of the European Union

Today, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will participate in a debate at the European Parliament focused on outlining her vision for the future of EU reform.

Coming after her resignation as chair of her CDU party, Merkel’s speech and debate with the parliament will focus on the EU reforms and issues she hopes to address in her final term as chancellor. She is primarily expected to focus on the ongoing Franco-German plan to reform the eurozone. Merkel is expected to put most of her efforts into expanding euro crisis-lending facilities, such as the ESM, as well as the creation of a budget for the eurozone focused on financing investment in innovation and development in poorer EU states. This is seen as a way of countering accusations of uneven economic growth in the bloc

However, a commitment to higher spending by Italy’s populist government has been seized on by opponents to the reforms, such as the Netherlands, who have warned that the EU’s limits on deficits and spending must be protected above all. However, the core proposals of the reform are expected to pass in coming months, particularly an expansion in the size and power of the ESM and greater economic oversight powers for EU institutions.