Leaders draw EU battle lines

Analysis
By Nick Assinder
BBC News Online political correspondent

Another Blair-Howard clash - and another powerful insight into how the next general election campaign will unfold.

Blair has come out fighting for EU constitution

And, as far as Europe is concerned at least, it promises to be a bare knuckle fight.

The two leaders are clearly up for it and used the prime minister's statement on the recent EU summit to deliver some of their most combative performances yet on the issue.

Michael Howard, who believes he is onto a real vote winner with this one, went straight to the heart of the latest row over the proposed EU constitution.

It would fundamentally undermine Britain's ability to rule itself and move towards subsuming it into a federal European state.

And, after 34 referendums on everything from devolution to the mayor of Hartlepool, should not the British people be given a vote on this historic document, he demanded.

Election issue

The prime minister was out to "bounce" Britain into the constitution before the general election, he added.

Clearly, Mr Howard would rather have this as a central issue in that general election, believing voters will always be attracted to a party offering to give them a say in such matters.

Blair wants to avoid election row

And, if the prime minister fails to get the constitution ratified as soon as he now wants - and that may lie in the hands of MPs and Peers as much as his EU allies - Mr Howard may even just about get his way.

Not, however, if Tony Blair has anything to do with it. He is now committed to getting this document on the books as soon as he possibly can - presumably just so he can avoid it becoming a general election issue.

But, even if he fears the Tories' referendum strategy, he showed little sign of it, delivering probably his most comprehensive and positive pro-constitution performance yet.

A Europe of 25 simply will not work without the document, it does not pose any of the threats claimed by the Tories and, in any case, he is not about to give any ground whatsoever on his "red line" issues of crime, tax, foreign policy and social security, he said.

Shift in tone

And the Tories' pledge to re-negotiate it if they become the government would amount to re-negotiating the UK's very membership of the EU, he added.

And, while he was at it, he reminded Mr Howard he had voted against a referendum on the famous Maastricht treaty negotiated by his predecessor John Major.

If Mr Blair wants to avoid this becoming a general election issue, he would need to get it through the Houses of parliament sooner rather than later

None of this was particularly new, or even terribly enlightening.

But it did mark a decided shift in the government's tone.

After the talks on the constitution collapsed at the end of last year it was believed the prime minister was happy to see the entire, troublesome issue kicked into the long grass where it could have stayed until after the general election.

Thanks to the shock election of a socialist government in Spain and a change of heart by Poland - the two countries largely responsible for the original deadlock - a compromise has suddenly become a near certainty.

A deal now looks on the cards for the June summit, just a week after the local and European elections in Britain.

And, if Mr Blair wants to avoid this becoming a general election issue, he would need to get it through the Houses of parliament sooner rather than later.

So, it seems, he has determined to come out fighting and arguing a strong positive case for the constitution.

There will be much more of this to come over the coming weeks and months.