New German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday in Brussels that her country still stands by the European Union (EU) constitution after the charter was turned down by France and the Netherlands in referendums.

"We stand by the constitution. The pause for reflection is not an excuse for putting it aside," Merkel, who is in Brussels for a get-to-know-each-other tour, told reporters after brief talks with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

She refused to take a stand on whether Britain should give up its annual rebate from the coffers of the EU, a focal issue blocking a long-term budget for the 25-nation bloc.

Asked what message she would send to Britain, who hold the EU's rotating presidency, during her trip to London on Thursday, Merkel said the rebate issue should be addressed together with other outstanding issues.

"We need to address concerns of everybody," she said. "My message will be I support an economically strong Europe,"she added.

Merkel pledged support for the work of the EU. She said her visit to Brussels is a signal of the German federal government to support European integration. "Whatever I can do, I will do," she said.

But she stressed that Europe needs economic reforms to keep itself competitive in a globalized world.

Barroso pledged to work closely with Merkel. "Europe needs a strong Germany, and we can do a lot for Europe together," he said.

Barroso also expressed the hope that Merkel can help persuade Britain in striking a deal on pricky issues like the 2007-13 EU budget.

"In the coming weeks, we will be discussing the financial perspective (the budget) ... The commitment and determination of the chancellor will help us convince the (EU) presidency," said Barroso in German.

He asked Britain to act, saying the key to many issues is in the hands of Britain. "There is a special responsibility for our UK friends," he said.

At an EU foreign ministers' meeting on Monday, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said his country would present budget proposals shortly before an informal foreign ministers' meeting on Dec. 7. The last chance for a deal during Britain's EU presidency would be the mid-December EU summit in Brussels.

Budget talks are stuck as Britain conditions the cancellation of its annual rebate on something France is vehemently against -- cuts in EU's spending on farm subsidies, of which France is a major beneficiary.

Merkel, as his predecessors, Gerhard Schroeder and Helmut Kohl, chose France as destination of her first foreign trip, obviously in an attempt to emphasize the special ties between the two European giants.

In Brussels, before her meeting with Barroso, he visited the NATO headquarters and met NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as well as European Parliament President Josep Borrell.

Source: Xinhua