EU: Germany and Italy agree that the EU needs a constitution, though the process of agreeing one is going to take some time, German chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday.
Germany takes over the rotating presidency in January 2007 and Dr Merkel made it clear that Berlin's turn at the helm would not be the decisive one for a constitution.
"We are aware of the significance of the German presidency, but also made it clear that subsequent presidencies will also be significant," Ms Merkel said at a news conference with Italian prime minister Romano Prodi.
"The important thing is that Germany and Italy agree that we need such a constitution and a deepening of co-operation within the European Union and that this should come from up high," she said.
The current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, Austria, has proposed setting a far-off deadline of 2009 for ending the stalemate over the constitution.
This was Mr Prodi's first visit to Berlin since his government came to power last month. He has said that repairing damaged ties with Germany was a top priority for his centre-left coalition.
Germany's traditionally strong relations with Italy were dealt a severe blow in 2003 when Silvio Berlusconi said Martin Schulz, a German socialist member of the European Parliament, behaved like a Nazi prison camp guard.
Gerhard Schröder, who was chancellor at the time, cancelled his Italian holiday after Mr Berlusconi refused to apologise.
Italy's tourism minister said he would not have a problem with a German boycott of Italy because German tourists were supposedly "ultra-nationalist blonds with beer bellies". - (Reuters)