BERLIN, March 24 (Xinhua): German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday called for a common EU army, as the 27-member union is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary this weekend in Berlin.

"We must come closer to forming a common European army," Merkel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, told Friday's edition of German newspaper Bild.

Merkel's remarks came as German politicians are fiercely debating the controversial US plan to build an anti-missile defense shield in Eastern Europe.

The United States is seeking to deploy a missile defense radar in the Czech Republic and install 10 interceptor missiles in Poland. Some analysts are worried that the US decision may risk splits among its allies over security concerns.

The German chancellor had said the US anti-missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic should be built within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Meanwhile, Merkel called for the revival of the EU constitution to streamline the bloc's regulations and increase its efficiency.

"We need an EU constitution that suits the decision-making mechanism of the larger EU," she said.

EU leaders, who will meet in Berlin on Sunday, are expected to sign a Berlin Declaration to set out EU values and outline its future goals.

Even though the declaration may not mention the word "constitution," it might be an allusion to the need to revive it, German news agency DPA quoted its sources as saying.

The constitution is virtually dead after two of the EU founding nations, France and the Netherlands, rejected the draft treaty in separate referendums.

Merkel, expected to present a road map for the revival of the constitution by the end of Germany's EU presidency in June, had hoped to make a strong push for the constitution during the upcoming summit in Berlin.

The ambitious plan has recently been played down due to differences among EU members.