"Duitsland zal grondwetimpasse niet oplossen", zegt Merkel (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - German chancellor Angela Merkel has said that her country's EU presidency in the first half of next year will "not solve the problem" of the shelved EU constitution, following discussions on the charter with Dutch leader Jan Peter Balkenende.

Ms Merkel on a visit to The Hague on Friday (27 October) made some of her most downbeat statements so far on Berlin's chances of reviving the EU constitution.

"The German presidency will certainly not solve this problem," she said after talks with Mr Balkenende whose country rejected the charter in a popular referendum last year.

German-Dutch ties over the issue are seen as problematic with Ms Merkel having frequently vowed to save as much of the existing text of the constitution as possible despite the Dutch "no".

But after her meeting with Mr Balkenende, Ms Merkel highlighted the consensus between the two countries on the need for reform of the current EU treaty, while avoiding to call the EU constitution by name.

"I believe we find ourselves together here, because we agree that the Nice Treaty is not sufficient, that we need something that shows our further European commitment," she said.

A quick-fix solution to the constitutional deadlock would be hard to find given the French and Dutch "no" votes, she explained.

"We had better not make too many prognoses - given the situation in Europe at the moment, also considering the failed referenda in France and the Netherlands - we better work a bit more intensively behind the scenes. But this problem will drag on for a while and will not be solved during the German presidency."

The comments suggest that Ms Merkel views the failed referenda in France and the Netherlands as a major political problem, despite officials in The Hague previously blaming her for not fully understanding the true impact of the two "no" votes.

When Ms Merkel took office in November last year, she vowed to push the adoption of the constitution "as a whole," saying that the French and Dutch "no" votes should "by no means lead to the idea of the constitution being given up."

EU leaders in June tasked the German presidency, kicking off next January, to design a roadmap to overcome the constitutional stalemate which should lead to a consensus on a new EU treaty under the French presidency in the second half of 2008.

Mr Balkenende, meanwhile, is in the midst of an election campaign with the latest polls suggesting he might win the 22 November elections.

"I believe we should draw lessons from the referendum," he said after the talks with Ms Merkel.

"Whatever the result of next month's elections will be - there are several lessons one can draw. People want to be sure that we don't try and build to make a superstate out of Europe. People want to participate more in Europe. They want improved transparency, and they want to be good at areas which are of real importance, such as energy, security, environment and immigration."

"These are the points of departure in the discussion about the revision of the treaties," he said.