Brussels, 24/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - The chair of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, has criticised the extremely slow German decision-making process that is holding back the development of a solution to the eurozone debt crisis (see EUROPE 10480). In an interview with Der Spiegel on Sunday, he said that things took longer in Berlin than in other capital cities. Under a recent German consitutional court ruling, the government has to be given the go-ahead by the relevant committee at the Bundestag before agreeing to anything. Juncker said the Bundestag cannot decide on everything in advance because things can change right up until the last moment at summits. With the lack of real progress in the eurozone talks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was not given a very clear negotiating mandate by the German parliament before the summit meetings on Sunday 23 October and it is hoped that she will have a negotiating mandate in time for the new summit that she herself requested, which is due to take place on Wednesday 26 October. (MB/transl.fl)