Brussels, 24/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - At a meeting in Aachen on Wednesday evening with the President of the Commission José Manuel Barroso and vice president Günter Verheugen, Chancellor Schröder sent out an appeal to all the European institutions to stand shoulder to shoulder in the current crisis in order to "consolidate Europe as a power for peace" and a "social model". "It is precisely in situations such as this that the European institutions (...) and all those who are particularly convinced of the idea of a united, integrated Europe, must work closely together", said Mr Schröder at the end of a meeting organised by the leader of the Socialist group at the EP, Martin Schulz. According to Mr Verheugen, the Chancellor asked Mr Barroso for the Commission to play an intermediary role to get Europe out of its crisis and "strongly encouraged the Commission to take on a role as a driving force behind integration, which Mr Barroso unreservedly applauded". Mr Verheugen told the press that Mr Barroso was prepared to ensure that "with the support of Germany, the Commission will throw all its strength into the fight, to find a solution to the issue of the financial perspectives". "We expect the UK government to do all it can to reach a solution. The longer this crisis lasts, the greater the damage will be", he added. Mr Schulz also stressed the "highly central role" the Commission must "play in the coming months, because as a central institution of integration, it can take initiatives to help plug existing gaps". "In the coming days and weeks, initiatives may be taken, towards the idea of an intermediary role for the Commission", he said. For his part, Mr Barroso stressed that "in Europe, there can be no question of one single idea imposed on all others (...). In Europe, we need a market, but we also need a spirit, a culture, a civilisation, political goodwill. And in my view, it would not be a very wise move to play those who are in favour of political integration off against those who are in favour of economic integration. We need both, and this is how we will move forward", he stressed.