Merkel says tackling COVID-19 to be "leitmotif" for Germany's EU presidency
BERLIN, June 18 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday presented a basic outline and goals of Germany's presidency of the EU Council starting in July, setting tackling COVID-19 as the "leitmotif" for its term.
"Europe needs us as much as we need Europe," said Merkel in a speech to the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament. "Europe is something that we can and must create. It is a dynamic order of peace and freedom."
She said that Germany would assume this responsibility at a time when Europe was facing "its greatest challenge" in history.