lisbon treaty
Merkel defends Franco-German deficit plan
Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday rode to the defence of a controversial Franco-German plan to toughen Europe's fiscal rules, saying the EU faced political gridlock without Paris and Berlin.
Resistance grows to EU treaty rewrite for Berlin
A German drive to rewrite the European Union treaty suffered a fierce backlash on Tuesday, putting the creation and shape of a permanent safety net for overspending euro nations back in doubt.
Franco-German eurozone reform raises hackles
A Franco-German drive to undertake a risky rewrite of the European Union's hard-fought Lisbon Treaty to tighten budgetary discipline among eurozone countries sparked fresh criticism from other EU member states on Monday.
German speakers marginalised in new EU diplomatic corps
A conservative German politician is reportedly fuming that the European Union's new diplomatic corps apparently sees little use for the language of Goethe and Schiller, preferring instead English and French skills.
Steinmeier welcomes Polish embrace of Lisbon treaty
Outgoing Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed the decision by Poland on Saturday to ratify the Lisbon Treaty to reform the European Union.
Bundesrat approves Lisbon reform treaty
The EU's Lisbon reform treaty cleared a major hurdle on Friday as Germany's upper house approved laws paving the way to its ratification following months of political wrangling and heated debate.
Bundestag passes law paving way for EU reform treaty
The EU's Lisbon reform treaty took a significant step closer to coming into force on Tuesday as Germany's parliament passed a revised law paving the way to its ratification.
Berlin paves the way for ratification of EU treaty
Germany's ruling parties have reached broad agreement on a bill that will allow the country to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, a parliamentary whip said on Tuesday, removing a key hurdle to a broad reform of the European Union.