So far, the most concrete plans have been put forward by the CDU, and Westerwelle has adopted a few of their ideas for himself. The CDU's proposal suggests the following, among other things:
The right to take violations of the Stability and Growth Pact to the European Court of Justice;
Tougher sanctions against notorious debt limit violators, which would range from removing their voting rights to the appointment of an EU "austerity commissioner;"
A multi-level restructuring process for countries with debt problems: In the event that a country faces insolvency, the EU austerity commissioner would have far-reaching rights to intervene in the country's financial policies;
A greater capacity to take action: In those areas in the Council of Ministers, the powerful body comperised of leaders of the 27 EU member states, where decisions currently need to be unanimous, a qualified majority would be sufficient;
A separate chamber within the European Parliament which would only be for the European parliamentarians from the euro-zone countries;
The transformation of the planned European Stability Mechanism (ESM) into a European Monetary Fund.
As EU tension around debt problems mounts, many political parties in Germany, including Merkel's advocate amending the Masstricht and Lisbon treaties to give the EU more power to punish those who disobey rules regarding deficit and debt.