Britain, France and Germany squaring up

A fresh war of words has broken out between Britain and France and Germany as EU leaders plunged into marathon talks to chose a new Commission president and thrash out a constitutional treaty.

Tony Blair’s official spokesman said it was “unfortunate” French President Jacques Chirac had chosen to oppose Britain’s position before talks had begun and that German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had sought to link the issues of the constitution and the presidency when the summit in Brussels began yesterday.