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Merkel seeks to end EU deadlock

EU leaders faced a debate over how to drag the 27-member union out of a mid-life crisis yesterday, as they gathered for the signing of a declaration aimed at rallying a skeptical public behind efforts to renew the EU's political rule book.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, is challenging member countries to break out of two-years of deadlock over the stalled EU constitution and find a way to improve the bloc's decision-making processes before it can accept any more new members.

The summit marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome by six core countries of what was then called the European Economic Community.

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged renewed unity, saying it was the only way to tackle the pressing problems of the modern age.

"Together we can achieve results we could never dream of alone, tackling the challenges of the globalized world: climate change, energy security, terrorism and organized crime, mass migration, a more competitive economic environment and global poverty," he said.

The leaders were to witness the signing by Merkel, Barroso and European Parliament head Hans-Gert Poettering of a declaration of basic principles.

However, they could not bring themselves to mention the word "constitution," instead calling for a "renewed common basis" by 2009.

By glacial EU standards, the declaration's small step forward on the constitution -- achieved after armtwisting phone calls by Merkel as late as Friday -- is considered progress.

The celebrations marking the EU's 50th birthday, including poetry readings, the serving of baked goods and all-night dancing at the Delicious Doughnut nightclub, were aimed at inspiring the leaders and the public with the EU's success in achieving peace and prosperity on a continent that spent much of the past century mired in war and ideological division.

Today, European leaders cannot agree on how or whether to revive the constitution rejected in referendums in France and the Netherlands in 2005. The charter would have created a bill of rights, a full-time EU president and foreign minister and faster decision-making to give the bloc a more assertive global role.

There is no single view on whether, or how soon, to admit other countries that want in, such as Turkey, which is in membership talks, or more distant prospects such as Ukraine.

Merkel told reporters she was confident the 27 EU governments could overcome their deep differences over the EU's future by the 2009 deadline.
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