EU to set constitution aside for another week

European Union foreign ministers agreed today to give the bloc another year to sort out the impasse over its troubled constitution and take the time to build confidence in ambitious plans for greater integration and expansion.

Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot said the envoys, in Vienna, Austria, discussed the way forward and agreed that although Europeans remain positive about the 25-nation EU, “we need to extend the reflection period” by another year to resolve the impasse over the charter.