Would-be Merkel successor warns against EU 'transfer union'

BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union must be careful not to become a "transfer union" in which richer member states are asked to bankroll their poorer peers, a leading candidate to succeed German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Reuters.Friedrich Merz, a lawyer and former leader of the parliamentary faction of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), said the EU was walking a "very fine line" with financial rescue packages now under discussion.He was referring to a proposal made by France and Germany..