Europe will be “damaged” if Mrs Merkel, regarded by many as the mother of Europe, fails to form a government from the ongoing coalition talks, according to a top EU official.
The remarks from the EU’s budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger come as the German Chancellor has struggled to strike a governing coalition deal.
He said a failure to reach a deal would “damage Europe and strengthen the region’s populists” as the bloc waits for its economic powerhouse to form a government.
This warning has been echoed by a German political expert who claims the three-way negotiations between Mrs Merkel’s conservatives, the free-market liberal FDP and the Greens could end up freezing Europe’s progress.
Officials from the European Union are currently awaiting the result from this weekend’s talks, but the self-imposed deadline to reach a deal – Sunday evening – is fast approaching.
The biggest stumbling blocks in the three-way talks have been around an upper-limit of asylum-seekers in Germany, as well as the future use of coal in the country.
Speaking to RT, Werner Patzelt, a political scientist and CDU party member, said that Europe will be stuck while German political parties continue to negotiate.
He said: “Germany is the most important power of EU, the EU cannot move without Germany. Decisions will have to be on hold.
“For Germany to push forward the EU, they need a stable government, so all European business has to wait until the Germany is ready to be an active player in the EU game.
“Germany has paralysed itself, which is exceptional. Merkel contributed to this, so it is up to her to find a way through.”
According to RT correspondent Peter Oliver, crucial decisions on the EU agenda, including Brexit trade talks and Emmanuel Macron’s eurozone reforms, will be frozen.
He explained: “There is little chance of the trade talks that Theresa May badly wants getting underway before there is a government in Germany.”
Mrs Merkel had already enraged several EU figures after she missed a crucial summit in Sweden because of the coalition talks.
One MEP Maria Joao Rodrigues tweeted: “For me, this argument is not acceptable.”