EU CONSTITUTION: Mr Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who chaired the convention that drafted the EU's constitutional treaty, has warned the Government against rushing back into negotiations during Ireland's EU Presidency.
Speaking in Brussels yesterday, Mr Giscard said that seeking agreement too soon after the failure of last week's EU summit could aggravate disagreements.
"My advice is not to rush into a process that could lead to a confrontation," he said.
Mr Giscard described the summit's collapse as a missed opportunity to reform the EU in advance of enlargement. He predicted that the coming months would persuade both old and new member-states that the draft constitution represented the best way forward for a Union of 25 or more countries.
"The EU is going to find itself in exactly the situation that it feared - an enlarged Europe without the prospect of an appropriate institutional framework. It means that the new member-states will enter a divided Europe," he said.
Mr Giscard laid the blame for the summit's collapse on the refusal of Spain and Poland to agree to a "double majority" system of voting in the Council of Ministers that reflected population weight. He said that it was essential that any new system should reflect "the equal representation of European citizens" while respecting the rights of member-states.
Warning that a second failure could prove fatal for the constitutional treaty, Mr Giscard said it was better to "allow things to run their course" and return to negotiations in late 2004 or early 2005.
"A precipitous move, instead of producing [agreement] would probably reinforce antagonisms, so it would be better to have a prudent, cautious approach," he said.
Mr Giscard said that, although the Irish Presidency should not seek to conclude the treaty negotiations, it should try to ensure that the spirit of reform in Europe remains alive.
"Irish Presidencies tend to be good Presidencies. We have every faith in them," he said.