A new bargaining chip has emerged in the ongoing German coalition talks: the idea of holding referendums on major EU decisions - be it bailouts, enlargement or more transfers of sovereignty to Brussels.
The idea was formulated in a joint working paper drafted by Hans-Peter Friedrich, a member of Angela Merkel's Bavarian sister party (CSU) and currently the country's interior minister, and Thomas Oppermann, a member of the opposition Social Democrats (SPD).
A grand coalition would ...
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