End of Deadlock?

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said after talks with Sarkozy in Brussels on Wednesday that a consensus was emerging among EU leaders in support of the plan to scale down the constitution.

"A simplified treaty is the only way forwards," Sarkozy told reporters at the joint press conference.

On his second foreign trip after his inauguration last week, the French leader said he was determined to make sure that agreement was reached at the EU summit next month.

He underlined that it was crucial that the EU break its current deadlock after French and Dutch voters rejected the draft EU constitution in referenda in 2005.

"I am convinced that Europe cannot remain at a standstill. We
cannot remain in this relative paralysis," said Sarkozy. "We have to find a way out of this impasse," he added.

Slimline treaty

The French president would like to see the streamlined document including provision for a permanent EU presidency to replace the current rotating one, possibilities for "enhanced cooperation" between EU states and a move from unanimity to majority voting. Immigration issues should also be covered by the new treaty, he said.

A new EU rulebook is needed to ensure efficient and rapid decision-making in a bloc which has expanded from 15 to 27 member states over recent years.

The French president emphasised that the scaled-down treaty should be agreed by the member states' parliaments rather than being put to the people.

During a debate about the constitutional crisis in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said the concept of an "EU constitution" had put off many Dutch voters who see the document as a threat to national sovereignty.

Problematic symbol

"It is clear that the symbol of the constitution was an important reason for the no vote," said Balkenende. He stressed the need for reform, but called for it to be achieved in small steps.

But some important European players reject the idea of scaling down the constitution. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has attacked the idea of the French "mini-treaty" and threatened that a vanguard of European nations who want closer integration could go it alone.

Germany, which currently holds the rotating six-month EU presidency, has also said repeatedly that it wants the "substance" of the constitution to be preserved and the charter of fundamental rights to be annexed to the new treaty.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has made resurrecting the failed constitution a top priority. At the EU summit in June she is expected to call on all governments to rally behind her proposals for a new "road map" for Europe to be ratified before European Parliament elections in summer 2009.