Blair accused of EU 'wriggling'

Mr Blair said there were differences with France

Prime Minister Tony Blair has come under fire over Europe during heated exchanges in the House of Commons.

Tory leader Michael Howard said Mr Blair was "wriggling like a worm on a fish hook" over Europe. He said it was time to rethink the entire EU.

Mr Blair said the Conservatives wanted to quit the European Union.

Luxembourg later proposed freezing the UK's annual refund from the EU from 2007 to 2013 at its average level. No 10 refused to comment on the plan.

The proposal from Luxembourg, which currently holds the EU presidency, would mean changing both the rebate and European farm subsidies after 2013.

But Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker has admitted a deal is unlikely at the European summit which starts on Thursday.

Dead deal?

Mr Blair's Commons grilling came after a 48-hour whirlwind European tour dominated by a row over the UK's refusal to give up its £3bn EU rebate.

Mr Blair said there could be no discussions on the issue unless farming subsidies were also debated - something French President Jacques Chirac will not accept.

Isn't it time you talked straight to the British people and gave it straight to the leaders in Europe tomorrow? Michael Howard Q&A: EU budget rows

The Conservatives said the fact the UK's rebate was now the focus of this week's summit - rather than the crisis over the EU constitution - showed Mr Blair had been out-manoeuvred.

Mr Howard said the French and Dutch rejection of the European constitution showed the deal was "dead" and he urged Mr Blair to face facts and admit it.

He denied the Conservatives wanted to pull the UK out of the EU - and pointed out that Mr Blair had backed withdrawal from the EU when first elected to Parliament in 1983.

Mr Howard also highlighted Mr Blair's changing positions on the constitution and a referendum before saying: "You've wriggled on Europe like a worm on a fish hook."

"Isn't it time you talked straight to the British people and gave it straight to the leaders in Europe tomorrow?"

'Permanent crisis'

Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy said Britain surely had to "accept that this treaty is no longer viable".

He called for a "formal moratorium on significant treaty revision" to allow the EU to prove that it can carry out the tasks it needs to do.

Mr Blair said only the European Council as a whole could pronounce on the future of the constitution, which was why "we have been careful in the words we have chosen".

He said there should be a "pause for reflection to consider the right way forward for Europe".

He said there was a clear understanding that a fundamental debate about the future of Europe was needed and Britain was well placed to play a good part in that.

The clashes came as EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called for compromise and said that deadlock over the EU constitution could lead to "permanent crisis".

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the UK would be prepared to use the veto to protect its refund.

And French President Jacques Chirac said the deal which protects farm subsidies until 2013 "must be fully respected".

He was backed by Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, who called agricultural payments "non-negotiable" while saying the rebate was "open for debate and open for discussion".