BERLIN - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his conservative challenger Angela Merkel squared off on the EU's uncertain future Thursday, in their first clash since he said he would seek early elections.
In a parliamentary debate ahead of a pivotal EU summit, Merkel accused Schroeder of failing to plot a way forward as the 25-nation bloc struggled to bridge deep divisions over its planned constitution and its budget.
"You have completely lacked the courage and the will to respond adequately to the crisis in the EU," she charged.
Schroeder announced last month that he would seek to hold a national election a year ahead of schedule -- probably this September -- after his Social Democrats (SPD) suffered the latest a string of state poll debacles.
Merkel's Christian Union bloc is now leading the SPD by a double-digit margin in opinion polls and her personal popularity has gradually eclipsed that of the charismatic Schroeder.
A poll by the independent Forsa institute released Thursday in the news weekly Stern showed that the Christian Union parties could win an absolute majority.
They tallied 49 percent versus just 27 percent for Schroeder's SPD.
Thursday's debate did not address the key issues in the election campaign -- the hidebound economy and some five million unemployed -- but allowed Merkel to attack Schroeder on other points likely to resonate with voters.
She vowed to continue to fight Turkish accession to the EU and work toward a "privileged partnership" with Ankara as opposed to full membership in the bloc.
"We will not renounce our position and will continue to repeat that negotiations for a privileged partnership are the best option for integrating Turkey in Europe," she said.
Schroeder has strongly backed full EU membership for Turkey -- a position that has met with skepticism among large parts of the electorate. Ankara is due to begin EU accession talks on October 3.
The chancellor, who was to jet to Brussels later Thursday for the summit, said ahead what is expected to be a tense debate on the 2007-2013 budget that he saw the controversial British rebate as no longer justified.
"There is absolutely no justification any longer for the British rebate," Schroeder said, calling the controversy over the policy the "key point" in the debate.
"Britain is the sixth biggest per capita beneficiary of the EU budget but ranks far below that as a contributor."
He said if the British annual rebate were maintained as it is, it would soon reach more than seven billion euros (8.5 billion dollars) versus 4.5 billion euros currently.
Germany is the biggest EU budget contributor nation.
Merkel took issue with Schroeder's strategic priorities in the debate, criticizing the chancellor's steadfast defense of the agricultural subsidies scheme that overwhelming benefits Germany's close ally France.
The British government has called for a new look at the EU farm subsidies program if its rebate is called into question.
Merkel said that while she agreed with Schroeder that Britain would have to budge, it was unacceptable to view the farm funding system as "sacrosanct" while demanding flexibility from others.
06/16/2005 11:12 GMT