Merkel Urges Greater European Integration

 LONDON -- German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel says Germany has the political will to ensure the stability of the eurozone. The German leader spoke² alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron, who pressed for “urgent action” on the debt crisis. 

Before bilateral³ talks with Britain’s David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it is important to emphasize the instruments to support the eurozone have been created.

She said Germany is prepared to work with those instruments whenever necessary to keep the eurozone stable, so that it can play its part towards global economic growth. 

Part of the solution, she said, will be greater integration⁴ in Europe. 

Merkel said the employment market should be integrated much more deeply and with more mobility⁵. 

International pressure is mounting for the eurozone to tackle its ongoing⁶ financial woes⁷. 

On Monday, the International Monetary⁸ Fund will be releasing a report on Spain’s banks.  Depending on that report, Spain may be seeking a bailout from its euro neighbors to shore up its beleaguered⁹ banks.  

Bailouts are a route that Greece, Portugal and Ireland have already gone down. Britain is not a member of the single-currency eurozone and Cameron emphasized his country will not be joining the eurozone and will not take part in growing integration. But he urged eurozone countries to deal with their issues. 

"When it comes to the eurozone crisis, I am very clear that urgent action is needed to deal with the market uncertainty," he said.  "That is about building fire walls and recapitalizing banks.  But it is also essential, as Angela has said, that we need credible¹⁰ plans for getting on top of deficits¹¹ and debt, and we also need those structural¹² reform plans completing the single market to make sure we can get good growth throughout the European Union, including in the single currency area." 

University of Kent Politics and International Relations Professor Richard Whitman says greater European integration is the road ahead, and that may leave Britain in a predicament.

"Really, perhaps the issue now is what happens to those states that are not eurozone members and are not going to be part of this super EU, and how they are going to relate to the group of countries in the eurozone, which are going to go further and faster when it comes to European integration," he said.  "Will they sign up?  Will they see themselves as wanting to join that club?  Or will they be happy to see themselves on the periphery¹³?  And that is the dilemma¹⁴ for a country like the U.K."

Britain, he says, will remain on the periphery and that could be bad news for business. 

"In other words, you operate in a market place, which is still the U.K.'s most important export market, but the rules of the game - how you trade, what the regulations are and so on - all that is set by others," he said. "And I think that will be the dilemma for countries that are on the outside and ultimately what makes it attractive to be in the core, in the heart of the European integration project." 

A two-day European summit is scheduled later this month.  Chancellor Merkel has played down hopes the meeting will provide a “big bang” solution to the euro crisis.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

4 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

5 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

8 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

9 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

11 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

12 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

13 periphery   

n.(圆体的)外面；周围

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe.从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。
• The periphery of the retina is very sensitive to motion.视网膜的外围对运动非常敏感。

14 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。