European Union (EU) member states expressed their concerns Thursday over the crisis following French and Dutch "no" votes on the EU constitutional treaty and moved to seek a way out of the predicament.

"RATIFICATION MUST CONTINUE"

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met with Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Junker, who is now working as the rotating EU president, on Thursday to discuss EU issues including the constitutional crisis.

Schroeder told reporters after the meeting it was important to run the ratification process of the constitution in all the 25 EU nations.

"Ratification must continue. We must decide what to do at the end of that process," he said. "Every form of overreaction at this stage is wrong."

Schroeder, whose country is one of the engines for the integration process of the bloc and has already approved the EU constitution, was also scheduled to meet with his French counterpart, Jacques Chirac, on Saturday and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on June 13 to seek consensus on EU issues.

The Swedish government said on Thursday that it will continue efforts to win parliamentary approval of the EU constitution in December despite overwhelming rejection by voters in the Netherlands.

Lars Danielsson, Prime Minister Goeran Persson's chief advisor, said, "It's not reasonable that the French or the Dutch people should decide how we handle this issue."

"We expect to continue our ratification process," Danielsson said, while acknowledging pressure "will grow" for a referendum, rather than a simple parliamentary ratification.

In Cyprus, government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said, "We hope that this (Dutch rejection of the EU constitution) will not delay moves toward European integration," adding that all partners concerned must analyze in detail the reasons that lie behind the Dutch people's rejection of the constitution and examine its repercussions.

He said Cyprus, whose parliament will discuss the ratification of the constitution on June 29 and 30, believes that the process of ratification must continue, noting that Nicosia has agreed on the statements made by the heads of various EU members that the process must go on.

Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini warned that "European integration cannot and must not stop. In the globalized society today, he said, the only way to deal with the paradox is by forging a common front and not isolating oneself."

LATVIA'S RATIFICATION OF EU CONSTITUTION

Following the setbacks of the EU constitution in France and the Netherlands, the Latvian parliament overwhelmingly ratified the constitution on Thursday, becoming the 10th EU member to ratify it.

In the 100-seat legislature, 71 lawmakers voted for the treaty and five against, with 24 lawmakers abstaining or absent.

Latvia, a former Soviet republic of 2.3 million people, is oneof the 10 countries that joined the EU last year.

US BACKS A UNITED EUROPE

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday that the United States supports a strong and united Europe amid the turmoil over the draft EU constitution.

"It is our view that a strong and united Europe that is able to act as a global partner with the United States, given its democratic values and our long history together, will only serve to multiply the forces that are fighting for democracy and freedom and for prosperity across the globe," Rice said after she held talks with visiting EU Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU High Representative Javier Solana and Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn.

However, Rice declined to comment on the referendums on the draft EU constitution, saying that this is something for the Europeans to decide.

EXPECTATION ON COMING EU SUMMIT

The scheduled EU summit on June 16-17 is drawing more and more concerns as it will be the first gathering for leaders of the 25-member bloc after the EU constitution was rejected by France and the Netherlands, two of the six founding members of the bloc.

On Thursday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso,who wants member states to go ahead with ratification despite the negative votes, asked all member states not to make "unilateral decisions" before the EU summit in Brussels.

"We're in a period of reflection," he told reporters at the European Parliament. "A great virtue in politics is prudence. If there is a problem, we have to look at it collectively."

European Parliament Socialist Group leader Martin Schulz said in Brussels on Thursday that the governments of EU countries have two weeks to salvage the EU constitution.

"The EU summit in two weeks' time will be crucially important. Ministers have until then to salvage the constitution," Schulz said after a meeting of the parliament's party group leaders.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi suggested that the meeting discuss the double defeats in the two EU founding members, in order to find a solution.

The government of Cyprus said the coming summit will provide a first good opportunity to examine the French and Dutch "no" votes and their aftershock.

In Denmark, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen regards the upcoming EU summit as a forum for clarifying the ratification process of Denmark and other member nations. Denmark is scheduled to hold a referendum on the treaty on Sept. 27.

"It is clear that we are now in a very serious situation. The government's point of view is still, however, that Danes should have a chance to vote on the treaty,' said Rasmussen.

He indicated that the summit might play a crucial role in determining whether the treaty's ratification process proceeds despite the Dutch and French rejection of the treaty.

Source: Xinhua