The FINANCIAL -- European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso on Tuesday said moves towards greater EU fiscal and politicial union may require treaty change.

According to EUbusiness, in a public speech, Barroso said for true economic and monetary union, the bloc needed a banking union, a fiscal union and further steps towards a political union.

Proposals to be put to a European Union summit Thursday and Friday will suggest that an "integration process should be progressive," he said.

"It should start with steps that can be taken immediately without a treaty change. These would lead to longer term steps that may require such changes."

Saying the more than two-year-long soveriegn debt crisis was the worst in the 60-year history of the bloc, Barroso said treaty change, which is a fraught process, would likely be required in the longer term future to avoid a repeat of the current drama.

"The crisis has again highlighted the spillover effects of our budgetary and fiscal policies. In a more integrated economic and monetary union, sound fiscal positions will not be optional, they will be non-negotiable," he said.

"We propose to look at further steps that may require changes to the treaty."

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