Blair to Meet Chairman of EU Convention

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, May 19, 2003

Blair to Meet Chairman of EU Convention

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to meet the chairman of the European Union (EU) convention, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, on Monday in London, the Downing Street confirmed on Sunday.

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British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to meet the chairman of the European Union (EU) convention, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, on Monday in London, the Downing Street confirmed on Sunday.

The meeting will take place on Monday in London, said a Downing Street spokesman, who did not elaborate on what they will talk about.

Giscard is in charge of drawing up a new constitution for the EU.

The Observer reported on Sunday that Blair would use the talks "to block any moves towards greater integration of Britain within the EU and to lay down "red lines" on the new constitution.

Blair would say to Giscard that he would not allow Britain's sovereignty to be put at risk, although Britain wants to be fully engaged in the EU, the paper said.

Blair, who favors an EU steered by member state governments rather than EU institutions in Brussels, was expected to tell Giscard that Britain would not give way on issues such as tax and benefits harmonization across the EU, or a common foreign and security policy, the paper added.

The meeting between Blair and Giscard comes days after the EU convention, comprising 105 parliamentarians and government officials, met this week to bridge differences among EU countries over how the EU should be run after it expands to include 10 new members next year.

Talks on the draft constitution, which is to be in place at an EU summit next month, focused on whether a single presidency should be set up to replace the current practice of rotating the presidency every six months among EU nations.

Many small EU nations fear this proposal would take away any influence they have in decision-making, and it has also come underfire from British euro-skeptics fearful of an European super-state.

Giscard told the BBC on Friday that the new EU constitution would help coordinate the policies of member states without weakening their sovereignty.

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