Europe must be 'refounded' with France and Germany at its heart, Nicolas Sarkozy said last night.
In a major speech on the future of Europe, he said the two countries would campaign together for a new EU treaty, which would deepen integration and abolish a string of national vetoes.
The scale of the French and German ambition for a new Europe is likely to alarm David Cameron, who travels to Paris today for talks with the French President ahead of next week's summit of EU leaders.
Nicolas Sarkozy will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week to try and guarantee the 'future of Europe'
Downing Street yesterday insisted that EU leaders were discussing only 'limited' treaty changes needed to underpin the euro.
Officials refused to be drawn on whether Mr Cameron would even raise Tory demands for the repatriation of powers, such as employment law, from Brussels.
But Mr Sarkozy called for a 'new economic age' in which countries lived within their means.
And he said he would hold crisis talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday to thrash out a package to save the euro from collapse. 'France and Germany, after so many tragedies, have decided to unite their destiny and look to the future together,' he said.
Mr Sarkozy said it was crucial that more control was given to Brussels over national budgets as countries like France were pushed towards recession. And he suggested that EU member states would have to be prepared to abandon many cherished vetoes in order to make Europe more effective.
EU flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, which has faced calls to be disbanded amid the economic troubles
He added: 'There is a reality that everybody must understand, that everyone has to accept. Sovereignty is only possible with others.'
France and Germany are pressing Mr Cameron to pledge that Britain will not hold a referendum on planned treaty changes.
But the Prime Minister will find it hard to resist Tory pressure if the changes go beyond intervention in the eurozone.
Downing Street has said Mr Cameron's key aim is to 'protect Britain's national interest' – including protecting the City ensuring the UK is not sidelined in key decisions by the powerful new eurozone. But officials played down reports that Mr Cameron had abandoned hopes of using the crisis to achieve a relaxation of the controversial Working Time Directive, which businesses say places a huge burden on Britain.
Tory MP Philip Davies last night said any extension of so-called qualified majority voting (QMV) – under which British interests can be overridden – would be 'unacceptable'.
He said: 'I don't care what France and Germany do, as long as we're not in it. But anything like more QMV which leads to an erosion of our sovereignty is unacceptable, and as far as I am aware it is unacceptable for the Government as well.'
Mr Sarkozy last night warned that the country's debts would double overnight if the single currency collapsed. A 'new economic age' was dependant on debt reduction and seeing public spending cuts, said Mr Sarkozy, admitting that France's 35 hour week, and a retirement age of 60 had been 'serious mistakes'.
Mrs Merkel is expected to call for new rules forcing countries to keep their deficits below two per cent of GDP – a restriction which almost no country in the single currency could meet at present.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2068781/Nicolas-Sarkozy-Angela-Merkel-attend-crisis-meeting-guarantee-future-Europe.html#ixzz1fOCD4A00
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