Europees Parlement dringt aan op herstart IGC (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - MEPs today (18 December) passed a strongly worded resolution calling on the in-coming Irish Presidency to make progress on the stalled Constitution talks.

The resolution, which is not legally binding, warns that "failure to resolve the issue of the enlarged Union's capability to act result in a 'variable speed Europe' ... or even a fragmentation of the Union".

It also urges Dublin, which takes on the EU mantle in less than two weeks, to call for a meeting of foreign ministers to discuss the Constitution in January 2004 and to ask EU leaders to come together before May.

Pessimism

The resolution reflects the pessimism in many EU quarters since the talks collapsed in acrimony at the weekend that discussions on the Constitution may have been kicked into touch for many months.

Recently Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said that he did not know if new intergovernmental talks would be called at all in the Irish Presidency which runs until the end of June; it will all depend on the "atmosphere", he said.

Speaking to jouranalists on Thursday, Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen said that "accommodating" the demands contained within resolution, "may be a problem".

The European Parliament which played a strong part in drawing up the Constitution text is still reeling from the fact that the summit failed.

Not good day for Europe

Speaking during a debate on the issue, Hans-Gert Pöttering, the leader of the European People's Party, said the day the talks failed "was not a good day for Europe".

He said his party "will oppose of anything that leads to a turn-down in the co-operation or that will lead to a formation of spheres on the European continent : that will be blocking".

Graham Watson, leader of the liberals, said "the IGC was not fated to fail - it chose to. Five countries walked away from an agreement everybody needed but none of them wanted enough".

The leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament will travel to Dublin this afternoon to discuss the Constitution with the Irish Presidency.