Barroso to host special summit on EU constitution

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will host special closed-door talks with other EU leaders in Portugal next month on the European Union’s embattled constitutional project.

Commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said Mr Barroso was organising two-day talks to take place May 12-13 in Sintra, on the outskirts of the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.

“The agenda is wide open, it’s a brainstorming,” Ahrenkilde Hansen said.

She refused to say whether all 27 EU leaders would be invited to the informal summit saying invites were sent to “a limited number of participants”.

The meeting signals a stepped-up role by the EU chief in ongoing behind-the-scenes talks between EU capitals on what to do with the EU’s constitution, which has been approved by 18 member states, but was rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005.

The new charter, which aims to streamline EU decision making, boost its role on the world stage and prepare the bloc for future expansion, needs unanimous backing from all its member states.