Berlin declaration vaguely confirms 2009 EU treaty goal

(Updated 25.03.2007 - 11:00 CET) The EU's 50th anniversary declaration confirms member states' goal to have a new treaty agreed before the 2009 European Parliament elections - but it does so in the vaguest way possible, reflecting some member states' strong scepticism towards institutional reform.

The Berlin declaration - published on the German EU presidency's website - merely states that the EU's "common basis" should be "renewed."

The text, which was sent to all EU capitals o...