Merkel ups German demand for political union in Europe

Angela Merkel today piled further pressure on eurozone citizens to accept her demand for political union as she declared Germany was prepared to let go of its national sovereignty.

In comments clearly aimed at softening protests from smaller nations about ceding their powers to a German-dominated European super state, Merkel declared: "Germany wants a strong European Union with 27 members.

"We also want a strong 17-member eurozone that inspires confidence. We are prepared to give up a piece of national sovereignty to achieve that."

Recent days have seen the German chancellor loudly voicing the view that a stable monetary union can only by created by establishing a political union.

The view is that, after the events of the last two years, financial markets will only be confident in lending to the region if it can be assured that all members will abide by its rules.

German taxpayers will similarly only be prepared to bail out stragglers if they can be assured the money will not be squandered again.