German Finance Minister Schäuble wants to reduce European Commission remit: report

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble wanted the European Commission to be stripped of some of its powers, a report in the German newspaper FAZ suggested in July 2015. But the German Finance Ministry denied the claim, saying Schäuble only desired the 'right balance'.

Mr Schäuble had discussed the matter at an Ecofin Meeting on the 14 July 2015 in the context of a preliminary debate amongst EU Finance Ministers on the Five Presidents' Report 'Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union'.

• Primary Source

Politico, 30.07.15: Schäuble: Commission must give up power http://www.politico.eu/article/schauble-european-commission-power-eurogroup-juncker-dijsselbloem-grexit/

EurActiv, 31.07.15: Germany's Schäuble wants to rebalance EU Commission's role http://www.euractiv.com/sections/euro-finance/germanys-schauble-wants-rebalance-eu-commissions-role-316727

ESO: Background information: Economic and Financial Affairs Council, Brussels, 14 July 2015 http://www.europeansources.info/record/economic-and-financial-affairs-council-brussels-14-july-2015/

ESO: Background information: Five Presidents' Report sets out plan for strengthening Europe's Economic and Monetary Union as of 1 July 2015 http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-five-presidents-report-sets-out-plan-for-strengthening-europes-economic-and-monetary-union-as-of-1-july-2015/

EUObserver, 30.07.15: Schaeuble said to want to split EU commission powers https://euobserver.com/political/129799

Blog: Open Europe, 30.07.15: German Finance Minister comes to the table with his own EU reform plans and looks for UK support http://openeurope.org.uk/blog/german-finance-minister-comes-to-the-table-with-his-own-eu-reform-plans-and-looks-for-uk-support/

Euro|Topics: Main Focus, 31.07.15: Schäuble's plans to reform EU Commission http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/archiv_dossier/DOSSIER167325-Schaeuble-s-plans-to-reform-EU-Commission

Spiegel Online International, 30.07.15: Breaking a Taboo: Plans for Euro-Zone Tax Take Shape http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/plans-for-euro-zone-tax-take-shape-in-berlin-and-paris-a-1045868.html

Politico, 25.08.15: ‘I’m rumored to be a little stubborn’ http://www.politico.eu/article/schauble-merkel-germany-grexit-varoufakis/

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