Merkel and Barroso Focus on EU Constitution-Making and Energy Supply Issues

German Chancellor Merkel and European Commission President Barroso said after the talks in Berlin on the 9th that the two sides were very concerned about the EU constitution and the Russian oil pipeline cutoff.

Merkel and Barroso emphasized that resolving the issue of the EU Constitutional Treaty is one of the central tasks of Germany's tenure as the rotating EU presidency. Merkel said solving the problem would require the support of other EU member states. She reiterated that Germany will formulate a plan to resolve the issue of the EU Constitutional Treaty before ending its EU rotating presidency. She pointed out that "the period of reflection on the EU Constitutional Treaty should be over and a new round of negotiations will now begin". She said, "By the time France takes over the EU's rotating presidency in 2008, the issue of the EU Constitutional Treaty should be properly resolved to enable Europe to act."

Merkel and Barroso agreed that another important task during Germany's EU rotating presidency is to promote the EU to reduce bureaucracy and create a good environment for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Both Merkel and Barroso condemned the interruption of Russian oil supplies to some EU countries through Belarusian territory. Merkel said that such an approach by oil supplier countries and transit countries without consultation with European countries would undermine trust on both sides. She believes that the EU should not be overly dependent on energy imports, so it is very important to develop renewable energy and improve energy efficiency. Barroso said the disruption to oil supplies was "unacceptable and disturbing".

On the same day, the European Commission and the German cabinet were divided into 16 working groups to hold talks in Berlin, mainly discussing the work plan and priorities of Germany's rotating presidency of the EU.