Germany believes that Europe needs an "economic government" but this should apply to the European Union's 27 member states and not just euro zone members, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday.

The EU needed to consider changes to its treaty, including weighing up whether members' voting rights should be suspended if they breach EU rules, Merkel said.

Merkel was speaking in Berlin at a joint news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, three days before a decisive European Union summit.

Reuters