Merkel eens met Sarkozy over toekomst EU debat (en)
German chancellor Angela Merkel has backed France's idea of setting up a "council of the wise" to debate the future of Europe.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy suggested at the end of last month that an independent body be set up to discuss where Europe is heading - something he made a condition of, in exchange for Paris not blocking Turkey's EU i membership talks.
Ms Merkel offered support for the proposal after meeting Mr Sarkozy at Meseberg castle in Germany on Monday (10 September) but stressed that the group, while discussing enlargement, should not focus "exclusively" on Turkey, Spiegel Online reports.
It is still not clear who will sit in the council and both leaders said they would further discuss the idea with their other EU partners before forging ahead.
A call for stronger market regulation
Both leaders also called for more regulation of international financial markets after a crisis in the American subprime loan sector recently threw the markets into turmoil.
"We cannot allow a few speculators to bring down the whole international system, borrowing under any conditions they like and buying at any price they want and without knowing who is lending", Mr Sarkozy said.
"We are in favour of transparency and regulation [of financial markets] and for a capitalism that benefits businessmen and not speculators." The aim is "not protectionism, but reciprocity", with countries such as the United States and China, he added.
For her part, Ms Merkel said that increased transparency of the financial markets has been an important concern for Germany for months.
Consequently, the EU should present a "united front" to face "unfair practices", the two leaders said in a joint declaration, with the German chancellor insisting that "we must have as coherent an approach as possible".
This is the third informal meeting of Mr Sarkozy and Ms Merkel since the French president was sworn in last May.