Schulz aiming for United States of Europe

The man who could become Germany’s next deputy leader called yesterday for a United States of Europe by 2025 with the expulsion of any member states that do not agree to join.

Martin Schulz wants to revive the idea of a constitution to create a federal EU if he takes his Social Democratic Party (SPD) back into coalition government with Angela Merkel’s party.

The constitutional treaty would harmonise EU action in domestic and foreign security, tax and monetary affairs, and asylum and international development, he said.

Schulz, 61, was president of the European parliament for five years and made no secret of his desire for more EU integration. In 2005 voters in France and the Netherlands rejected an EU constitution, killing the project and causing Tony Blair to call off plans for a referendum on the document in the UK.

Now leader of Germany’s second-largest party, Schulz used a speech setting out his goals for a potential government with Merkel’s conservatives to announce he would push for a take-it-or-leave-it federal union.

GERMANY:

‘‘I want a European constitutional treaty that creates a federal Europe,’’ he told SPD delegates at their annual conference in Berlin.

‘‘Such a constitutional treaty has to be written by a convention that includes civil society and the people. This constitutional treaty will then have to be put to the member states and those that do not ratify it will automatically have to leave the EU.’’

He later tweeted: ‘‘I want a new constitutional treaty to establish the United States of Europe. A Europe that is no threat to its member states, but a beneficial addition.’’ This would fulfil a goal

"I want a new constitutional treaty to establish the United States of Europe. A Europe that is no threat to its member states, but a beneficial addition."

Martin Schulz, Social Democratic Party

set out by the SPD in 1925 for a United States of Europe, he said.

‘‘Europe is our life insurance. It is the only chance we have to keep up with the other great regions of the world.’’

His position, which would potentially force the break-up of the EU, places another hurdle in the already difficult road towards forming a new German coalition government after inconclusive elections.

Merkel was decidedly lukewarm when asked about his call. She said she wanted to help ‘‘crisis-proof’’ the EU but said her goal for 2025 was not a federation but better co-operation in fields such as defence, foreign policy, education and research.

Other German conservatives were more forthright. Alexander Dobrindt, a senior member of the Bavarian conservatives, said that Schulz appeared to want ‘‘the dissolution of nation states in the next seven years’’. He added: ‘‘Anyone who does not want to bow to his ideas of Europe, he wants to throw out. But Europe works only as a team project and not as a campaign against dissenters.’’

In Britain, Brexiteers seized on Schulz’s remarks as a reminder of the need to leave the bloc and avoid a future relationship that tied the country to the single market and customs union.

In contrast George Osborne, the former chancellor, said that British Prime Minister Theresa May would not be able to deliver a hard Brexit. Speaking to reporters in Westminster, he said that any attempt to force it through parliament would fail.

‘‘I don’t think they’ve got the votes [for a hard Brexit],’’ he said. The Times