Merkel's allies reject idea of 'United States of Europe'

Europe is not ready for a federal system, trusted allies of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) have said, rejecting a vision for the continent as proposed by Martin Schulz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), a former coalition partner.

Germany plunged into crisis after the country's political forces failed to form a coalition following the September Bundestag election. SPD leader Martin Schulz, who had previously ruled out forming a coalition with the CDU, this week agreed to"open-ended" talks with Merkel's camp.

"We don't have to govern at any price, but we must not reject governing at all costs either," Schulz said Thursday, after CDU coalition negotiations with the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens collapsed.

"I want a European constitutional treaty that creates a federal Europe," Schulz said at...