German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck a pro-European Union note while speaking with voters Saturday, reflecting on the United Kingdom's decision to exit the EU. She argued a united Europe "is worth fighting for," touting her election slogan, "If Europe is stronger, then Germany will be stronger."
"For many people, including myself, something changed when we saw the Britons want to leave, when we were worried about the outcome of the elections in France and the Netherlands," Merkel said. "We have realized in the past few months that Europe is more than just bureaucracy and economic regulation, that Europe and living together in the European Union have something to do with war and peace, that the decades of peace after World War Two would have been completely unthinkable without the European Union."
Merkel is campaigning for re-election in September; she has been chancellor since 2005.