Na mislukking: Europa van meerdere snelheden? (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The prospect of a core group of member states integrating at a faster pace than the rest was once again mooted after the collapse of talks on the EU Constitution today (13 December).

French President Jacques Chirac was the most outspoken about this possibility.

Speaking to journalists, he reminded them that he had already proposed to German parliamentarians in June 2000 that "pioneering groups" dedicated to a particular area of European construction should be made.

"I continue to think that it is a good solution because that will provide a motor, that will set an example. I think that it will allow Europe to better go faster and further", said Mr Chirac.

He added that for such a group to go ahead there should be two conditions: that the acquis communautaire (the EU body of legislation) not be put into question and that the door be open to everyone to join.

Germany expressed itself in a similar manner on faster integration. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said "the countries who want more integration will have to consider this route".

The next months will show whether it works to have everyone on board, said Mr Schröder.

In the run up to the Summit both Mr Schröder and his foreign minister Joshcka Fischer had increasingly spoken about a core Europe if talks on the Constitution should fail.

Others too?

Paris and Berlin are not alone in their ambitions. Belgian Prime Minster Guy Verhofstadt mentioned the six founding member states (Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux countries) saying that if the situation does not evolve over the next few weeks, "it would be obvious that these countries will ask themselves how to make progress on European integration".

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, however, was more cautious and ruled out a core Europe for the moment.

A two-speed Europe now would only be the result of continued disagreements. He suggested a "period of reflection would be welcome".

It is not just current member states who are thinking of moving ahead at a faster pace; the future member states have been too - among them Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Klaus Hänsch, the European Parliament's representative in the talks said "it is not only the six founding member states who want to go ahead; there is a whole row of states who are willing".

Those countries who are willing to shape Europe's future based on the Convention's text should join together to see how they come out of this crisis, he added.

But not all are in favour, Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz whose country's hard-line stance on the Constitution talks contributed to the failure of negotiations, said it would threaten the whole idea of a united Europe.