Merkel allies keen to curb EU powers

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian sister party, the Christian-Social Union (CSU), plans to call for fewer EU commissioners and less new EU legislation in 2014 European Parliament elections.

The draft text adds that a new court should be established to rule on disputes between member states and the European Commission.

The idea of reducing the number of EU commissioners is a long-standing CSU demand.

The SOI article also discusses the CSU strategy within the wider context of Germany's evolving relations with the EU and, in particular, Chancellor Merkel's policy of 'more Europe, less Brussels'.

MEP Markus Ferber will be the top candidate from CSU in the 2014 European elections. CSU leaders rallied around a call for "more Bavaria in Europe".

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Germany revives EU treaty change debate http://www.europeansources.info/record/germany-revives-eu-treaty-change-debate/

Spiegel Online International, 02.01.14: Isolated in Brussels: Merkel Clashes with EU Commission http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/relations-worsen-between-angela-merkel-and-european-commission-a-941243.html

Blog: LSE EuroppBlog, 07.01.14: German party manifestos are increasingly likely to downplay European issues and reflect negative attitudes toward the EU http://bit.ly/1db9jpu

IP Journal, January 2014: Slippery Slope. CSU limps forward on euroskeptic crutch https://ip-journal.dgap.org/en/blog/berlin-observer/slippery-slope

EurActiv, 28.01.14: CSU wants more 'Bavaria in Europe', sets EU campaign rolling http://www.euractiv.com/eu-elections-2014/bavarian-csu-sets-eu-campaign-mo-news-533045

EUObserver, 11.02.14: German eurosceptics on the rise ahead of EU elections http://euobserver.com/eu-elections/122985

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