Angela Merkel to host Emmanuel Macron for talks Monday: Spokesman

Berlin, May 12: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host Emmanuel Macron for talks in Berlin on Monday, a day after the new French president is due to take office.
The German leader had welcomed Macron’s resounding election win on Sunday, saying he “carries the hopes of millions of French people and also many in Germany and across Europe”.
Merkel and her government had thrown their support behind the centrist Macron against far-right and anti-EU challenger Marine Le Pen during the election campaign.
She spoke by telephone with Macron just minutes after his victory and praised his commitment to the EU.
The two will meet on Monday afternoon, Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said, adding that further details would be released later.
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Thursday underlined common ground with Macron in Germany and France’s bid to bolster the European Union, which has been buffeted by Britain’s decision to quit the bloc.
Schaeuble said both he and Macron are in favour of creating a parliament for the 19-country eurozone.
“A eurozone parliament could be set up, made up of European parliamentarians, which would have consultative powers” for moving forward the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Schaeuble said.
The Luxembourg-based ESM, operational since October 2012, is a bailout fund for eurozone countries.
Macron visited Berlin twice during the hard-fought electoral campaign. PTI