German Economy Minister Robert Habeck argued in favour of fundamental reforms in the European Union to make the bloc more agile and less bureaucratic in remarks at the Industry Day conference in Berlin on Monday.
The EU must become stronger in terms of economic and industrial policy, Habeck said.
He also named seven specific points he would like to see implemented by the next European Commission.
Those measures include assessing potential business mergers in the EU according to the global market and not solely from the perspective of the EU internal market.
The EU's defence and armaments industry must be strengthened and there should be an active policy around raw materials, said Habeck, a Green party member who also serves as Germany's vice chancellor.
Free trade agreements should also be agreed to only at the EU level, instead of going through the parliaments of the many countries in the bloc, Habeck contended.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz also spoke in favour of such an policy on Monday, warning that otherwise trade deals risked years of delays during the ratification process in various EU countries.
