BERLIN - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will call for a "pause for reflection" at the EU summit on June 16-17, when leaders will discuss the way forward for the troubled EU treaty, government sources said on Friday.
Schroeder will echo a similar appeal made by European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso immediately after Dutch voters decisively rejected the European Union constitution in a referendum on Wednesday.
With the Dutch result coming just three days after France had also voted "no", the EU was thrown into turmoil.
Schroeder will say at the Brussels summit that it is essential to take stock of the situation before taking any further action, said the sources.
In a separate comment, the official government spokesman said Germany "sees no alternative to European unification".
Germany is also determined to avoid that the crisis over the ratification of the treaty "creates a larger, more general crisis in Europe", spokesman Bela Anda said.
All 25 EU member states must ratify the treaty for it to become effective.
The treaty is designed to provide a framework as the European Union expands.
06/03/2005 16:11 GMT