29 May 2006

VIENNA - European Union foreign ministers Sunday put the bloc's first-ever constitution on ice until at least 2009, a move which could prolong the crisis triggered by last year's rejection of the landmark treaty by French and Dutch voters.

Meeting at a 12th-century abbey outside Vienna, the 25 EU foreign and European affairs ministers admitted the bloc had failed to overcome sharp differences between countries which have declared the constitution dead and those still seeking to salvage it.

"We need a consensus of the 25 (EU members) and we have not yet reached that point," admitted Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik who chaired the two-days of talks.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso agreed, saying: "We cannot say at this stage that there is complete agreement on what to do... it is not yet possible to give a clear answer."

Many participants, including German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, spotlighted 2009 as a deadline for getting an EU constitution into place.

But Plassnik repeatedly deflected questions on whether the 2009 timetable was firm.

"I can neither anticipate what will happen in 2009 nor next year," said Plassnik.

With no agreement in sight, EU ministers ordered another 12-months of "reflection" on how to revamp decision-making and power-sharing in the Union.

Steinmeier was blunt in saying years would still be needed for the EU to forge consensus on the deeply controversial constitution.

"This discussion is going to take a longer period of time," said Steinmeier. A German diplomat was even less upbeat, saying: "The whole process is not going to be easy."

The EU would need until June 2007 to hammer out agreement on how to move forward and then probably a further two years to put a revamped constitutional treaty into place, said Steinmeier.

"My time frame is therefore until 2009," said the German Foreign Minister.

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