BERLIN, April 19 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the visiting French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Thursday to take key decisions to reform the Eurozone by June.
"We need an open debate and at the end the ability to compromise," Merkel said at a press conference after the meeting with Macron, before promising that an agreement would be reached by the summer.
She also warned that Europe could only represent its interests internationally as one. The pair also need to prepare European policies on asylum and immigration.
Macron said at the press conference that he wanted to present a united front on reform of the Eurozone by June, adding that France and Germany both wanted to come up with how to improve the single currency zone by the beginning of the summer.
Macron's vision includes turning Europe's existing bailout fund into a European Monetary Fund (EMF), and a Eurozone finance minister, which is difficult for Merkel as the German Chancellor was under pressure from her conservative bloc not to agree to reforms leading to more German funding.
It was Macron's first visit to Berlin since Merkel finally formed a new government on March 14, after which Merkel quickly visited Paris as she believed that the European reform could not be delayed more.
