Germany's Merkel says more EU centralization 'not the answer'

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday rejected further centralization within the EU after Britain's vote to leave, saying the bloc instead needed to delegate more tasks to subsidiary organizations.

"Centralization is definitely not the answer," Merkel told a local political event before a Sept. 16 summit in Bratislava between the 27 European Union states that will remain after Britain departs.

"Germany is a country that has had good experiences with the sharing out of tasks," added Merkel, who has been a strong defender of EU institutions since becoming chancellor in 2005.

Donald Tusk, who chairs the EU talks, last week said the meeting would focus on the future of the EU, not Britain.

Topics likely to be high on the agenda include immigration, terrorism and how to address EU citizens' concerns that globalization threatens their economic well-being.

Britons voted to leave the bloc in June, hitting the pound and forcing a change of prime minister. London has yet to submit to Brussels the formal notification that will kick-start the departure process.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, writing by Andrea Shalal; editing by John Stonestreet)

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