German Federal Chancellor Merkel said today Saturday Germany's Federal Government was very conscious of the challenges and opportunities that are entailed by assuming the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and is striving to achieve progress in important areas such as energy policy and climate protection and to take the (European) constitutional process forward, according to the Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa. Speaking ahead of the signature tomorrow Sunday of the text of the Berlin Declaration, Merkel said that "Germans have benefited greatly from European unification and that is why "we are particularly pleased that the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome falls during our EU Council Presidency." "Their signing 50 years ago meant that the vision of a united Europe was no longer merely a vision but was starting to become concrete reality. What started out with six founding members is now the 27-member European Union."
