Trouble in the pipeline will test Merkel's foreign resolve

Q. Do you really believe you can convince other countries to revive the European constitution? How will you go about persuading Britain that a constitution is desirable?

A: Firstly, it's important to say that all EU states have voted for the European constitution before.

Secondly, I cannot imagine a European constitution without all member states. It is not in our common interest. The constitution treaty is about questions like whether we have a common foreign secretary or whether we want to decide on domestic policy and legal policy together. It's also about how we vote on majority decisions. I cannot imagine deciding such important questions without Britain and other EU member states.

To convince all states that we need further development on this issue at the end of the Presidency we intend to make a proposal how we intend to go about taking the issue further. The German presidency doesn't presume that we will solve the problem of the constitution by the end of our 6-month term.

The task of the German Presidency, I believe, is to develop a road map so that the whole issue can be taken to a reasonable solution before the European elections. so that the people who vote in the European elections have a Europe which is capable of acting in their interests especially for those countries who are in favour of expansion like Great Britain. A Europe with 27 countries works differently than one with 15.

Those who want further expansion must understand that it is in their interest to have decision-making processes in this union which are workable.

Q. And if you fail? Could you live with a two-speed Europe?

A. I will do everything possible to ensure that it doesn't fail. A two-speed Europe may work under some circumstances, in certain areas like the Euro. But in other areas, such as those to do with European Parliament it's impractical. Can a British or Swedish or Italian MEP vote on an issue which his own country is not even involved in? Or will we have a bloc of MEPs in the EP who are allowed to vote on one issue and another bloc which is allowed to vote on another?

I imagine such a situation would be very complicated. The European Parliament has an important role to play so that the path of EU development needs to be one that is supported by the whole European Union.

Q. What would a constitution that is acceptable to everyone look like?

It is like the philosopher's stone which we are still looking for. We will start working with what we've got on the table at the moment, take into account the concerns of the individual member states and from all of this, we will look to see what is possible. I should stress again, that there 18 member states (out of 27) which have ratified the constitution and another 3-4 would be ready to do so.There are a large number of European member states who like this European treaty.

Q. Is it thinkable to have a kind of mini-treaty?

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