Van Rompuy holds EU together

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has judged the changes to the EU treaties called for by Berlin and Paris as unnecessary, leading Germany to warn of 'Brussels' tricks'. That is going too far, writes the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Van Rompuy had the task of putting together a treaty in which all states had a place. It is also his job to act as an institutional bridge between the Eurozone and the rest of the EU, that is to keep the business afloat - to the extent that there is one at all. And that's just what he's tried to do as an honest broker, which also explains the grumbling from Berlin. ... She [Merkel] will also know that the longer-term goal - a Stability Union based on changes to the treaty - is only attainable by first taking intermediate steps of the kind Van Rompuy is proposing. Without taking the pressure from the pot, of course, that means without absolving the 'sinners' of their responsibility."

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