Will Germany get full control of the ECB in exchange for a deal with France?

Missing in much of the talk about French President Emmanuel Macron’s grand vision to remake the eurozone is the simple, yet fundamental, question of what Berlin would demand in return…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s opening ask looks to be a big one: control of the European Central Bank.

Merkel, who is likely to be reelected chancellor, has offered a vague endorsement of Macron’s initiative but has yet to publicly spell out her terms. Behind the scenes, however, the haggling is well underway, and the ECB job is at the top of Berlin’s wish list…

Clashing views over how to run a central bank aren’t all that stands in Germany’s way to winning the top job.

The bigger problem is a broader concern that Germany is simply becoming too powerful. Nearly half of all Europeans feel that Germany has “too much influence” over decision-making in the EU, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center. Only 5 percent believe it has too little.

At the root of Continental fears over the emergence of a “German Europe” lies Germany’s swelling economic clout in the 19-member eurozone.