Merkel adamant on EU treaty changes ahead of Brussels summit (Roundup)

Oct 27, 2010, 14:50 GMT

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday reiterated her intention to push for key treaty changes at this week's European Union summit in Brussels, in a move likely to be opposed by several member states.

Merkel wants alterations to the Lisbon Treaty, which governs how the EU and eurozone operate, in order to protect the shared euro currency against future crises.

'There are no two ways about it, in clear terms - this will only succeed with an alteration of the European treaties,' Merkel told the German parliament.

The EU's 27 member states meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to decide on future budget rules for the bloc, based on proposals drawn up by a task force headed by EU President Herman Van Rompuy.

A bilateral deal struck last week between Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy soured negotiations, as several member states felt bypassed and oppose the proposed changes, which include a joint push for EU treaty amendments.

Sweden, the Netherlands and Eastern European EU members have said they feel betrayed, accusing Germany of softening their insistence on tough rules to accommodate French demands.

And practically all EU states worry that any treaty renegotiation would reopen a drawn-out process of deals and referendums, barely a year after a decade of negotiations finally brought the Lisbon Treaty into force.

Particularly controversial is the Franco-German insistence on changing the treaty so voting rights can be suspended if member states persistently break budget rules.

Merkel said she took seriously the concerns of those who opposed the measure, but stressed that it was crucial to enforce the basic principles of economic and currency union.

She said anyone opposed to voting-right suspension had to prove they were not merely relying on the 'principle of hope,' adding, 'That would be highly negligent; we would be fooling ourselves.'

Merkel also said new rules are necessary as Germany would not support the extension of the current 750-million-euro (1-trillion- dollar) eurozone rescue package beyond 2013, when it expires.

'There cannot, and will not be a simple extension including Germany,' Merkel said, arguing that this year's emergency rescue package was not a viable long-term solution.

The chancellor said that her goal was 'long-term stability' for the euro currency, warning that 'it has not yet been decided whether Europe will emerge from this crisis permanently strengthened.'

She also rejected suggestions that she had weakened draft new budget rules for the eurozone by bowing to French demands to let ministers retain the last word on sanctions for budget sinners.

Merkel argued that the agreement she reached last week with Sarkozy, in the seaside resort of Deauville, gave the EU's Stability and Growth Pact more 'bite,' as sanctions would kick in earlier and could only be blocked by a qualified majority of member states.

'A Franco-German agreement is not everything in Europe,' Merkel said, adding however that 'without a Franco-German agreement, little will come of many things - that is true in this case too.'

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