By Martin Banks - 17th January 2007
Chancellor Angela Merkel today threw her weight wholeheartedly behind the stalled EU constitution.
Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, she said the need for a foreign minister for the European Union was “reason enough” for the treaty.
Merkel also said the EU’s six-month presidency, currently held by Germany, was “too short by any stretch of the imagination.”
She said this was one reason Germany had opted for the so-called “trio approach” with Portugal and Slovenia, holders of the next two EU presidencies.
The idea, she said, is to ensure some continuity in the way the EU is run over the next 18 months.
Merkel said that reviving the constitution, which contained proposals for both an EU foreign minister and a much longer presidency, would be a German priority between now and the end of June.
The treaty was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands but accepted after referenda in 18 member states.
Merkel, addressing a packed plenary, said the treaty was the only way forward for Europe.
But she accepted that a compromise would have to be found before it is likely to come into effect.
“There is clearly a need for treaty reform," she said.
"A lumbering, bureaucratic, divided Europe will not help the EU meet the many challenges it faces."
"It requires Europe to act in concert and to produce the rules which will enable it to function," she told deputies.
Merkel, given a warm reception by MEPs, said that failure to adopt the constitution would be a “tragic omission”.
During the 30-minute speech, Merkel, who hails from East Germany, warned there was a danger that the EU was “losing sight of what Europe is about”.
“Citizens are having doubts and are wondering what EU is for and what holds it together. I believe Europe has to find a soul.”
She repeatedly and passionately spoke of the need for more tolerance in society, seen by many as a thinly-veiled reference to current cultural divisions in Europe and elsewhere.
“We must not accept any intolerance, be it from the far Left or far Right, or on grounds of religion or anything else.”
Merkel, elected in September 2005, highlighted two key presidency goals: foreign and security policy and pushing ahead with the Lisbon Strategy.
The Christian Democratic Union leader said she favoured “deepening” transatlantic relations with the US, but not at the expense of closer ties with Russia.
Merkel also identified energy and climate change as the two big geopolitical issues for the coming years
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