Merkel sees no EU expansion without Lisbon treaty

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday she fully agreed with French President Nicolas Sarkozy that there could be no further enlargement of the European Union without the Lisbon Treaty.

"I agree because the Nice Treaty limited the (European) Union to a membership of 27 states and for me it is unthinkable that we would change one area of the Nice Treaty without looking at the whole of the Lisbon treaty," she said in Brussels.

Merkel was speaking to reporters at the end of a European Union summit where leaders tried to find solutions for the bloc's Lisbon Treaty following its rejection last week by Irish voters.

(Writing by Paul Carrel)