Struggling to defuse the EU's worst political crisis in decades, the leaders of its 25 nations on Thursday abandoned their plan to ratify their first constitution by next year.
But they did not declare the document dead, just froze it in what was described as a "period of reflection" that could become permanent after the humiliating defeat of the constitution in referendums in France and the Netherlands.
"We cannot just go ahead as if nothing has happened," Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg's prime minister and the departing EU president, said at a news conference after the Thursday session of a summit meeting here. He called the November 2006 target date for all nations to ratify the document "no longer tenable."
But neither he nor any other leader was ready to bury the constitution, even though it cannot be put into effect unless all 25 nations approve it. Instead, there seemed to be an effort to move forward for the sake of movement, to attribute the constitution's rejection not to a lack of leadership or to flaws in the document but to the public's lack of knowledge and understanding.
"The constitution met their concerns, so what we have to do is explain the constitution in more detail," said Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, the union's administrative arm.
In an uneasy compromise, the 13 countries that have not yet voted on the constitution will be able to choose whether to cancel or go forward with ratification.
But at a news conference after Thursday's meetings, Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek of the Czech Republic announced that his country would postpone ratification indefinitely. Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark made a similar declaration, saying a referendum "makes no sense," and adding, "We will postpone a vote until there is sufficient clarity."
Britain has already announced a suspension of a popular vote, and Ireland and Poland are expected to follow suit. Even Luxembourg is wavering, and Juncker said his country's parliament would have to decide whether to go forward with a vote in July. Ten nations have ratified the document.
Reflecting the turmoil in Thursday's meeting, President Jacques Chirac of France for the first time threw into doubt what had been a given: the continuing enlargement of the EU.
"In this new situation, can the union continue to expand without the institutions capable of making this expanded union function efficiently?" Chirac said at the meeting in remarks made public afterward.
His remarks are the starkest but not the only indication that the expansion of the EU might be sacrificed because of the crisis. In a debate before the French Parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin suggested that the addition of 10 members into the union in May of last year was one of the reasons French voters rejected the constitution.
While he said France should uphold its commitment already made to Romania and Bulgaria, which are scheduled to become members in January 2007, he added, "Beyond that, while respecting our commitments, we should definitely open a period of reflection with our partners on the forms of future enlargement."
Delayed Memberships
That suggests that France opposes the EU's decision to begin formal talks later this year for the eventual membership of Turkey and Croatia.
Even the memberships of Romania and Bulgaria could be delayed as well, for other reasons. Earlier this week, Olli Rehn, the EU's enlargement commissioner, told reporters that both nations had been warned of a possible delay because of the slow pace of actions they are required to take before they join.
Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain told the gathering that it was crucial that the union's leaders focus on issues that matter to the Europeans, including economic competitiveness, crime, terrorism and Europe's role in the world.
"Let's get the politics right first, then the constitution," he said.
The crisis has plunged the bloc into a state of self-doubt and self-interest and ended two decades of political and economic integration. It has been complicated by the bloc's failure so far to agree on a long-term budget, which would have been on the agenda yesterday.
EU leaders yesterday were to endorse a plan to double their aid to the world's poorest nations by 2015.
The proposal, included in a draft statement for adoption at the EU summit, would take the bloc's aid to 90 billion euros (US$111 billion) over the next 10 years.
The text confirms decisions taken by development ministers from the 25 EU nations last week committing them to set aside at least 0.5 percent of gross national income to aid by 2010 and 0.7 percent by 2015.
The draft statement said at least 50 percent of the increase would go to sub-Saharan Africa. ``The EU considers the development of Africa a priority,'' it said.
New Laws Planned
EU leaders plan new laws to help their police forces work more closely together to fight terrorism, according to yesterday's draft summit conclusions.
The program, in a draft statement up for adoption, includes tightening rules on charities that funnel cash to militants, laws to allow police to retain data on telecommunications traffic and strengthened civil defense plans to prepare for germ warfare attacks.
It would follow up other recent measures to improve cooperation, including the adoption of a European arrest warrant that streamlines extradition of suspects among the EU nations.
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