Merkel urges movement from EU treaty sceptics

...governing the 27-nation bloc left it weak and incapable of action.

Germany assumed the six-month presidency of the European Union in January and has vowed to put forward a plan at a summit in June for relaunching the constitution, which was rejected in referendums in France and the Netherlands in 2005.

The goal is to have all EU members ratify a new treaty by the time of fresh European Parliament elections in mid-2009.

"Europe's strength, its ability to act, must be safeguarded, and the facts show that under the treaty that is currently in force this is not possible," Merkel told the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat.

"Particularly in those countries where high scepticism exists, the message must be sent that the constitutional treaty represents an improvement over the current Nice Treaty."

The constitution was aimed at streamlining decision-making in the EU to help it cope with its rapid expansion.

A number of countries, including France, the Netherlands, Britain, the Czech Republic and Poland, have deep concerns about reviving a document which would give more powers to Brussels -- for example by overhauling EU voting mechanisms and establishing a foreign minister for the bloc.

Merkel, who has been meeting other European leaders in recent weeks to sound them out on what they want from a new treaty, told German state premiers in the Bundesrat that getting the treaty back on track was a "very difficult challenge".

"But I also believe that it is time to move past the period of reflection," she said. "In 2009, we will have European elections and people will be asking themselves which Europe they are voting for."

She said further enlargement of the bloc would not be possible without a new treaty and said current voting procedures were inadequate.

((Writing by Noah Barkin, editing by Steve Pagani; Reuters Messaging: rm://noah.barkin.reuters.com@reuters.net; Email: noah.barkin@reuters.com; Telephone: +49 30 2888 5091))

Keywords: EU MERKEL/

[BERLIN/Reuters/Finance.cz]