Germany’s Merkel calls for EU co-ordination at UN’s top table

BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel says European Union countries on the U.N. Security Council should co-ordinate their activities better, speaking as Germany hopes to win a two-year stint on the council.

France will be the only EU country with a permanent seat after Britain leaves the 28-nation EU next year.

Germany has long sought a permanent seat. Along with Belgium, it’s expected to win a non-permanent seat Friday. Germany last held such a seat in 2011-2012.

Merkel said in Berlin Thursday that, as long as there is no fundamental U.N. reform, “we should, whenever a European member state gets a non-permanent U.N. seat … co-ordinate these seats Europe-wide and make them practically European seats.”

She said that would “greatly strengthen the consistency and coherence of our foreign policy.”