Heads of state and government of the European Union (EU) have agreed to put the EU constitution on hold for at least two years, said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Thursday.
"The heads of state and government accept that we should now move from the period of reflection to a period that should focus on delivery of concrete results," Barroso told a press conference at the end of the first day of an EU summit.
He said a report on the state of play of the constitution will be submitted in the first half of 2007 during Germany's EU presidency. The EU leaders will then examine the prospects for the constitution. A decision is not expected until the second half of 2008, when France holds the EU presidency.
He stressed that a formal decision will be made in Friday's session.
The rejection of the EU constitution, which would have provided for the necessary institutional reforms to cope with the enlarged bloc, by France and the Netherlands last summer put the EU into chaos and forced leaders to allow a one-year "pause for reflection."
As the period of reflection draws to an end, there is still no consensus among the member states on how to revitalize the ratification process.
So far 15 countries have ratified the document either by parliamentary vote or through referendums. The rest of the countries have decided either to proceed with ratification or to put the process on hold until new signals from France and the Netherlands.
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel told the same press conference that the substance of the constitution is good and that the constitution should be kept alive. But he admitted that "nobody felt a rapid solution is in sight."
Schuessel said the leaders have adopted the European Commission's proposal for a "double-track" approach, where the EU strives to reach objectives using the existing treaties while it tries to find a solution for the constitution.
He said it is time to move from rhetoric down to practicalities.
(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2006)
