Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski and his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle wrote a joint article, published in The International Herald Tribune, the global edition of New York Times, on September 18 in which they outlined wide-ranging proposals on how to overcome the EU crisis.

The two ministers call for revamping of the Economic and Monetary Union, with stronger powers at the E.U. level to oversee member states’ budgets. According to the authors economic coordination between member states is essential for growth and competitiveness, and for establishing an effective supervisory mechanism for banks.

The ministers see budgetary discipline as key to strengthening the E.M.U. with sound fiscal policy and balanced budgets as a must.
They add that the European Stability Mechanism should be further developed into a “European Monetary Fund. ”

Their next proposal entails strengthening of the European Parliament and the involvement of national parliaments. “Creating a permanent joint committee between the European and national parliaments could serve that purpose,” they write.

The ministers call for enhancement of institutions that work to the advantage of the whole E.U. “More Europe with stronger institutions means a Europe with a truly single market area,” they say.

As for other policy areas the ministers propose that the Schengen area’s external borders be strengthened and better protected by creating a European border police force.

Furthermore, they call for an elected European Union president. “It [Europe] also needs a directly elected European Commission president who personally appoints the members of his ‘European Government’, a European Parliament with the powers to initiate legislation and a second chamber for member states”.