(Financial Times) -- Angela Merkel said a core group of states needed to press on with European integration to fight the eurozone crisis, a rebuke to David Cameron, UK prime minister, who has called for more short-term crisis measures. Only hours before Mr Cameron's visit to the federal chancellery, Germany's chancellor said nations "in a currency union have to move closer together", reinforcing the shift to "a multi-speed Europe" which began with the introduction of the single currency. "We cannot just stop [the process] because one or other doesn't want to join in yet." Ms Merkel seemed intent on highlighting what Berlin perceives to be a contradiction between the UK's refusal to sign up to strict new EU fiscal rules and Mr Cameron's call for more intervention in the crisis -- a stance which has irritated many in the German capital.
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Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel said a core group of states should press on with eurozone integration to fight the debt crisis
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Merkel's comments ran counter to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron's call for short-term crisis measures
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Berlin perceives a contradiction between the U.K.'s refusal to agree to new EU fiscal rules amid its calls for more intervention
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The UK government has in recent weeks called for near-term measures including a bigger eurozone rescue fund to act as a firewall against financial market contagion, and jointly issued eurozone bonds -- ideas which the @placeholder government has repeatedly rejected as unnecessary as it pushes for longer-term fiscal integration.
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The @placeholder government believes only a clear roadmap for eurozone integration will ultimately restore investor confidence.