EU states agree to follow draft constitution closely

THE EU member states have agreed to stick closely to the draft European constitution drawn up over the past 18 months.

However, Ireland has parted ways with most of the other smaller EU member states it formed an alliance with while working on the document.

Foreign Minister Brian Cowen said Ireland is happy with the way the Italian presidency has decided to deal with the constitution while several of the other smaller countries are uniting to battle for changes.