Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Wednesday that Germany's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council was a major obstacle to future EU integration.

"I understand that national interests are very strong but I believe it would be contradictory on the eve of the signing of the European constitution for the EU not to have a single seat," Frattini said.

He stressed that Italy's idea of having a single seat for the European Union was compatible with France and Britain keeping the seats they currently hold.

Frattini explained that, according to Rome's vision, a single EU seat would be managed by EU members on a rotating basis.

The minister said achieving a politically united EU required a "farsighted" approach.

With this in mind, Germany's formal request for a Security Council seat for itself alone represented a "boulder" on the road to integration, he added.

Source: Xinhua