EU charter should have more on Christianity-Merkel

BERLIN, Jan 20 (Reuters) German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who launched plans this week to revive the EU constitution, used a magazine interview to renew her criticism of the charter for not referring to the importance of Christianity in Europe.

''I would have preferred a clearer acknowledgement of (Europe's) Christian roots,'' Merkel was quoted today as saying in a preview of an interview with weekly FOCUS magazine.

Merkel, who heads Germany's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), contrasted the European Union charter with the German constitution, which refers to one's ''responsibility to God and people''.

Merkel, who is presiding over Germany's six-month EU presidency, announced her ''road map'' for the constitution earlier this week, calling for the 27-nation EU to agree a revised version of the EU constitution by spring 2009.

The present version has been in limbo since it was rejected in referendums in France and the Netherlands some 18 months ago.

Last year Merkel was among the European politicians campaigning for a more explicit reference to Europe's Christian roots.

Plans to include a reference to the role of Christianity in Europe were orginally blocked by French President Jacques Chirac.

Some German officials hope French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, who has criticised France's official secularism as too rigid, would support the campaign for such a reference.

Sarkozy has also argued against allowing Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, to join the EU. This is a view that has strong support among Merkel's conservatives.

''Europe will have to deal with this issue (Christianity) further,'' Merkel was quoted as saying.

Although she said it was vital to acknowledge Europe's Christian heritage, Merkel agreed that Europe was a diverse area where Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together.

''Europe is not a Christian club ... (but) a values club,'' Merkel said.

The Vatican has campaigned energetically for inclusion of a reference to God, seeing it as an essential moral anchor for a Europe that has turned secular and faces a challenge from Islam.

Reuters MS VV1932