03/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - The German Presidency of the EU will take a proactive role with regard to solving the EU's constitutional treaty dilemma, ensuring that the position of the 18 Member States which have already ratified the current draft treaty is not ignored, explained German Chancellor Angela Merkel in an interview with the Financial Times on 3 January. 'Of course we must respect the No vote in the French referendum. But the German Presidency will not approach this from a minimalist position. There are also 18 countries that have already ratified the treaty, and a few more that take a very positive attitude. We cannot simply ignore that fact.' (hb)