Chirac and Schroeder: Don't give up on EU treaty

French president Jacques Chirac and Germany’s chancellor Gerhard Schroeder have called on Europe’s leaders to press on with the beleaguered EU Constitution.

At talks last night in Berlin the two leaders agreed that ratification of the treaty should continue, despite its emphatic rejection by French and Dutch voters.

“The chancellor and the president agreed that the constitutional process must continue,” said Mr Schroeder’s spokesman, Bela Anda.

He added that the two leaders had agreed that “particularly in the current phase we cannot leave Europe in the lurch”.

However, with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw set to announce tomorrow that Britain is suspending indefinitely its plans for a referendum, many observers believe the treaty – which must be ratified by all 25 member states – is now dead.

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso yesterday urged EU leaders not to descend into a “blame game” over the French and Dutch “no” votes.

Speaking in Messina, Sicily, on the 50th anniversary of the six-nation conference there which launched the original Common Market, he repeated his call for a “period of reflection”.

“I must underline clearly that ratification is above all a matter for the member states,” he said.

“What I think is crucial is that, whatever they do, they react together and that they avoid unilateral decisions – I am convinced a consensus is achievable.”

Nevertheless, the indications are that EU leaders will struggle to achieve unity ahead of a crucial summit in Brussels on June 16.

Last night’s meeting in Berlin between Mr Chirac and Mr Schroeder – whose countries have for so long been the driving force in the European “project” was being seen as an attempt by two damaged leaders to reassert themselves.

Both men have been damaged by recent events.

While Mr Chirac was hurt by the scale of the “no” vote in France, the German chancellor has been wounded by his party’s crushing defeat in a recent state election and now faces a tough general-election battle for survival in September.

There had been concerns in London that they would use their talks over dinner to try to revive the idea of an “inner core” – based around the founding six member states – to press ahead with an integrationist agenda.

However, one of the six, Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende, has already made clear his lack of enthusiasm for any such suggestion.

Although Britain now appears ready to deal the fatal blow to the constitution, ministers have been anxious to avoid unnecessarily antagonising Mr Chirac, in particular.

While dropping a referendum which he may well have struggled to win may be convenient for Tony Blair in terms of domestic politics, he could face a torrid time when the UK takes over the rotating EU presidency in July.

In particular, Mr Blair is likely to find himself coming under renewed pressure to give up Britain’s annual £3bn (€4.4bn) rebate – something the British government is determined to resist.