“’America First’ was a wake-up call. Our answer to that must be: ‘Europe United!,” Maas said. Last week the minister used an article in the Handelsblatt newspaper to call on Europe to consider a “new world order” more independent of the US, prompting Chancellor Angela Merkel to make clear that this was only Maas’s personal opinion. In his speech on Monday, Maas called on the EU to develop a “common foreign and security policy worthy of the name”, as well as a “defence union”, and added that the principle of unanimity had too often led to the policy of the “lowest common denominator”.
“We must be able to find areas in which majority decisions are conceivable for all member states,” he said. Maas also expressed concern over “polarisation” evident in Romania over alleged government corruption and controversial judicial reforms. Earlier this month more than 450 people were hurt, including 30 police, during clashes at anti-government protests. “It’s not the discussion as such that worries us, as that has to take place. It is the harshness of the debate, which has led to violent confrontations,” Maas said. He called for a “compromise” to be found over judicial reform which would preserve the balance of powers while bringing together Romanian society. — AFP
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