MEPs back Berlin declaration deal

MEPs have applauded German chancellor Angela Merkel for achieving a deal on the Berlin declaration on the EU's future.

But MEPS from left and right criticized the German chancellor for running negotiations on the wording of the text behind closed doors.

"A text drafted in the catacombs of the Bundeskanzleramt and signed by the presidents of the three European institutions should not have the temerity to start with ‘we the peoples of European union’", said Graham Watson, chairman of the Liberals.

Jens-Peter Bonde, co-chairman of parliament's eurosceptic group, said the parliament "should not sign a document to which it has not contributed".

Nordic left group leader Gabi Zimmer added that the process underpinning the deal "does not allow for a convincing democratic argument in favour of the statement".

Merkel defended the text, saying the declaration is an interinstitutional commitment to undertake much-needed reforms on the European institutions.

“The world will not wait for Europe. We are responsible to bring Europe to the forefront of world events”, she said, adding that "the precondition for this is the capacity for the EU to act decisively".

European commission president Jose Manuel Barroso followed Merkel's address urging MEPS to help break the constitutional deadlock before the elections in 2009.

"This is the kind of political test that politicians face only once in a generation", he said.

Failure to solve the constitutional crisis "leaves a permanent shadow of doubt in the EU", he warned.

"What is the credibility of the European institutions if EU leaders cannot come to an agreement on these rules?", he asked MEPS.

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