Berlin, 15 October 2022 (dpa/MIA) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a renewed call for reforms of the European Union, to enable the admission of new members, during a conference of European social democrats on Saturday. Scholz also said the principle that requires unanimity for decisions in foreign policy and tax policy should be gradually phased out, though he acknowledged this would take some persuasion. "But I also say clearly: if a geopolitical Europe is our aspiration, then majority decisions are a gain and not a loss of sovereignty," Scholz told delegates at the Congress of the Party of European Socialists (PES). The EU will stand by its word when it comes to countries that have been given candidate status - those include several Balkan states, Ukraine and Moldova - he said. "A united European Union of 27, 30, 36 states with then more than 500 million free and equal citizens can bring its weight to bear even more strongly in this world." However, it is important that the concerns of smaller states are not overlooked. "In the future, too, every country must have its concerns heard; anything else would be a betrayal of the European idea," he said. A copy of his speech circulated in advance indicated that Scholz wanted the EU to be stronger, also in military terms, and was proposing coordinated procurement of weapons and equipment, establishing an EU rapid reaction force by 2025 and a genuine EU headquarters for European armed forces. "We must confidently advance common, European defence efforts." EU states should resolve conflicts over financial and migration policy, according to Scholz, who said migration was an issue that needed to be managed with some degree of foresight. Irregular migration should be reduced, while efforts should be made to support legal migration and to bring in skilled workers from abroad. The PES brings together 33 socialist, social democratic, labour and democratic parties from all over the European Union and Norway to fight for a better and more progressive Europe, the party's website says. Some 300 delegates were invited to the congress alongside more than 1,000 guests, including several heads of government, many party leaders and some EU commissioners. The congress began on Friday, when delegates elected former Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven as the new leader of the PES. A total of 255 voted for Löfven, out of 262 delegates, in a move that replaces Bulgaria's Sergei Stanishev after 11 years in the post. There were seven abstentions and no votes against. Löfven, Scholz and Lars Klingbeil, co-chairperson of Germany's Social Democrats, said the goal for the 2024 European elections was for the PES to once again become the strongest group in the European Parliament. Currently, the conservative European People's Party is the strongest force in the European Parliament. The PES Congress ended on Saturday afternoon with an expression of solidarity with the women of Iran, who are protesting against state suppression, following the death of a woman in police custody for reportedly violating dress code restrictions. Late on Friday, the PES agreed a resolution on continued support - including military - for Ukraine and further sanctions against Russia.