EU mired in constitution debate

By Alix Kroeger
BBC European Union reporter, Brussels

With the football World Cup on the horizon, the president of the European Commission chose a sporting metaphor when talking about the EU constitution.

Mr Barroso is struggling for agreement on the way ahead

"We are going into extra time," said Jose Manuel Barroso. "We are not yet at the stage of penalty shoot-outs."

That extra time will continue until the first half of next year, when Germany takes over the EU presidency.

In practice, it may continue until the French presidential elections next spring.

In addition to its traditional role as one of the driving forces of the EU, France was one of two countries (along with the Netherlands) to reject the proposed constitution in a referendum last year.

Action time

Those votes shocked the EU institutions. It had taken two years to draft the constitutional text, under the leadership of former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing.

And then the people of two of the EU's founding states said "No".

A structure which has no borders cannot act decisively German Chancellor Angela Merkel Q&A: Constitution's future Ratification map Constitution gap still wide

A "period of reflection" was declared. Now, says Mr Barroso, it is time to move from reflection to action.

He wants EU leaders to sign a solemn declaration by the end of next year, the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the founding treaty of what is now the EU.

He told the BBC that there would be a need to return to the constitution or something similar.

More time was needed, he said, but the EU needed more efficiency and a new institutional settlement.

Expansion limits

The theme of reform was taken up by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, when she addressed the lower house of parliament (Bundestag) on Thursday.

In her first major speech on European policy, she said one European regulation in four could be scrapped to help the economy.

She also promised to restart the stalled constitutional process.

"I want the constitution, the German government wants the constitution, and I think a majority of this parliament wants it too," she said, to applause.

The argument over whether the constitution is alive or dead continues.

On Tuesday, Estonia became the fifteenth country to ratify, and the fifth country to do so since the French and Dutch No votes last year.

As a result of those votes, not just the process of deepening but also widening the EU was called into question.

Chancellor Merkel called for a clear limit to be set on future EU enlargement. "A structure which has no borders cannot act decisively," she said.

The business of integrating new members into the EU could not be a "one-way street," she said.

The EU needed to look at different ways of strengthening ties with the countries on its borders, stopping short of full EU membership.

Impasse

In his speech, Mr Barroso defended enlargement, although he acknowledged there were concerns over its pace and scope.

Each successive enlargement had sparked debate, he said, but each time, "the EU emerged stronger and more confident".

Next week, the EU is expected to announce whether Romania and Bulgaria can join next year, as planned, or whether they must wait till 2008.

They could also join next year, but under strict conditions, reflecting concerns that Bulgaria in particular has done too little to tackle organised crime.

One way or another, they will join the EU: the treaties to that effect have already been signed.

And once they do, the extra pressure on EU structures will increase the need to find a way out of the constitutional impasse.