Angela Merkel skal være innstilt på fordypning mot felles gjeldsforpliktelse. Hun vil at EU skal utarbeide en ny pakt som innebærer politisk, økonomisk og skattemessig union.

Det er store nyheter, men med det tempo EU har oppvist hittil virker Merkels tidsplan usannsynlig optimistisk.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pressing for a new EU treaty convention by December, despite opposition from many countries, Der Spiegel reports in its latest print edition on Monday (27 August).

Merkel’s push for a new EU treaty is in line with her demand for a true political union in return for debt being pooled in the eurozone and Germany’s own constitution being changed to allow for more power transfers to Brussels.

But many countries have little appetite for a new treaty. Recent experience has proved the difficulty of getting new texts passed in all 27 member states. A planned European Constitution was rejected in 2005 by French and Dutch voters. Its successor, the Lisbon Treaty, was also initially rejected in an Irish referendum.

For a new treaty to be drafted, a so-called convention comprising representatives from national governments and parliaments, the European Parliament and the European Commission has to agree on a final text.

According to Der Spiegel, Merkel’s EU affairs advisor Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut has «made it clear» during talks in Brussels that the German government wants the convention to be formed by the end of the year, with a first meeting to be agreed at an EU summit in December. Meyer-Landrut was spokesperson for the 2002-2003 convention, which drew up the European Constitution.

Merkel wants EU treaty convention by end of year