Wednesday 18 December 2013

Chancellor Merkel Urges Treaty Change, Or Does She?



Reuters

Kathimerini article

"I know that pushing through treaty changes in the member states can be difficult, but if you want more Europe, you have to be prepared to develop it further...In a world that is constantly changing, we can't stand there and say that at some point we agreed the Lisbon Treaty and there's no need to change it again. This won't work."

BUT:

See also Alex Barker, Brussels Blog, FT 18 December

"This week’s banking union negotiation is showing that Germany and the eurozone will go to great lengths to avoid giving Cameron the leverage he craves. In one senior EU official’s words: “Nobody wants to give the keys to the UK”. Two elements of the deal, while somewhat arcane and legalistic, should seriously concern London. The first is that it clears a legal pathway for the eurozone to plough on with financial integration without the UK having much of a say. The second is that Germany, even when it has legal concerns, will happily solve problems through pacts outside the EU treaties, just so it does not give the UK a veto".

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