EU constitution: The president of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, called on all member states to move ahead with the ratification of the EU constitution yesterday, despite the extension of the period of reflection.
In an address to EU leaders at the start of the European Council yesterday, Mr Borrell accused member states that had halted the ratification of the constitution of hiding behind the failure of last year's French and Dutch referendums on the issue.
It is as if those countries are hiding behind the screens of wood in a bullfighting ring, said Mr Borrell, a Spanish MEP who is due to step down as president next year. Mr Borrell said he did not want to call a spade a spade at this point, but said that everyone knew the three countries that he was talking about.
The Republic, Denmark and the UK have decided not to go ahead with referendums on the constitution until a new way forward is decided by member states.
"Those who haven't ratified it have to reconsider their positions . . . At some stage we shall have to declare this process closed, count the number of ratifications and proceed accordingly," Mr Borrell said. "Unanimity is necessary, but it is not the same thing if the number of countries failing to ratify is two, three, or more, or fewer than five."
Mr Borrell said it was now clear that the French and Dutch would not be voting again on the same text, although there was still no consensus on the fate of the constitution.
Meanwhile, Mr Borrell backed away from raising the controversial issue of moving the seat of the parliament from Strasbourg to Brussels. It costs EU taxpayers €200 million a year to hold 12 sessions in Strasbourg annually and a petition promoting the move has already attracted more than a million signatures.