The European Union cannot afford to waste time in pursuing greater integration and must move “as quickly as possible” to decide on the future of the Lisbon treaty, according to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel

Speaking in parliament in Berlin before leaving for Thursday’s EU summit in Brussels, Ms Merkel said that - following Ireland’s rejection of the treaty last week – Dublin should be “given the chance to rejoin the game” concerning joint efforts among the EU’s 27 members to adopt the Lisbon agreement, designed to streamline the bloc’s decision-making.