Foreign leaders believe a Tory win in the general election could prove to be the biggest obstacle to French and German plans to give Brussels sweeping new powers to police national economies. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, insisted changes to the Lisbon Treaty were needed to introduce the measures and in order to prevent another Greek crisis. She insisted an incoming Conservative government would not be allowed to use new treaty negotiations to ask for powers to be returned to Britain. She challenged the Tory leader to defy the might of Berlin, and the EU. "I will not speculate on the outcome of the British elections," she said. "Treaty changes are agreed by unanimity so I am not worried about something changing that I do not want – to put it bluntly. That's the way it is." David Cameron has pledged to hold a referendum on any new European treaties and has called for powers to be repatriated to Britain. However, Mrs Merkel said she was ready to face up to referendums, and the popular defeats, that blighted the Lisbon Treaty. "I do grant you that ratification in 27 member states is not an easy matter but Europe should not lean back and be complacent. It should be open-minded," she said. "I have always said that economic governance for all 27 member states is what we are after." The French and Germans have asked Herman Van Rompuy, the EU president, to form a special "task force" to look at "all options" for economic measures including a European Monetary Fund and an expulsion procedure for euro members that break the rules. "I think we will not be able to bypass possible treaty changes, I think we need them," said Mrs Merkel. "If the treaties do not stand the test of time then saying we do not want to touch them for the next ten years and we would rather live with an unsatisfactory situation, I do not think that is a good idea." William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said that a future Tory government would not accept any restriction on "Britain's ability to determine our own economic policies". "An EU economic government covering Britain would never be acceptable to a Conservative government," he said. The call for a new treaty also contradicted Gordon Brown's insistence that there should no discussion of a new treaty until after 2015, Mr Brown, who holds talks with the German Chancellor in Downing Street next week, insisted the EU had previously agreed it did not want to see any more institutional or constitutional chances after the pain of shepherding the Lisbon Treaty past demands for British vote on the EU "The working group – task force – will look at some of the issues. We will be on that task force and will put our views," he said. Other senior EU figures, and countries including France, are worried over the prospect of a new treaty, the inevitable battles over sovereignty and referendums that would follow. "There are doubts. There are member states that will reopen other issues. I know in Britain that the party that is ahead in the polls would like to open discussions," said a senior EU official.EU shapes up for battle with Tories
over new treaty
The EU is bracing itself for a national sovereignty battle
with the Conservatives
over plans to create a European "economic government".
Monday 29 March 2010
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