Günther Oettinger has a message for his fellow Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party members in Germany’s Bundestag ahead of a vote Friday on legalizing same-sex marriage: “It is time.”

Germany’s european Commissioner told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook his is “convinced” that Germany must seize the moment, created in part by political pressure from Martin Schulz, the social democrat candidate to replace Angela Merkel at German Chancellor in a national election September.

Merkel let lawmakers know Tuesday that she would not stand in the way of a parliamentary vote, now scheduled for 8.30 a.m. Friday.

“We are a union of values,” Oettinger said, referring to the European Union, adding that there can be no place for discrimination against classes of people in such a union. Read more via Politico