Leaders set date to conclude EU constitution

BRUSSELS leaders last night decided at their summit meeting in Brussels they would seek to conclude the EU Constitutional Treaty by the end of the six-month Irish Presidency.

The agreement to set June 17 and 18 as the date to conclude negotiations on the Treaty represented a major breakthrough for the Irish presidency, and the intense negotiations it has conducted since January.

After talks on the Treaty broke down in December, there was widespread pessimism that fundamental differences could not be overcome in the short term.