Romania pledges full support for revival of EU constitution

Romanian President Traian Basescu pledged on Friday full support for Germany's efforts to revive the stalled European Union constitution to seek a more assertive global role for the bloc.

During a meeting with visiting Polish President Lech Kaczynski, Basescu said it would be arduous for the German EU presidency to resume the process of drawing up a EU constitution.

In order to revive the charter, the positions of France, Poland and the Netherlands must be taken into consideration, the president said.

Romania, which formally joined the EU on Jan. 1, this year, had ratified the charter as a condition to enter the bloc.

Kaczynski, who arrived here for a one-day visit, said his country was open to renewed talks on the charter, but cast doubts over its future.

"I've declared our position, that we're open to continue negotiations regarding the (constitutional) treaty," said Kaczynski, whose country has put the ratification process on hold after the charter was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

He added that Poland would make its position clear during the later part of Germany's EU presidency. Germany, who took up the EU rotating presidency on Jan. 1, urged Warsaw last month to table its position.

The draft constitution provides for a bill of rights, and an EU president and foreign minister to replace the current system of a rotating leadership.

So far, 18 countries have ratified the treaty. Those counties have pledged to work together to save the charter.

Germany, one of the major powers inside the European Union, has repeatedly said that it wants to see the charter -- in some form or other -- adopted by 2009, but gave no indication as to how that might be achieved.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel once pledged to renew negotiations over the constitution, but said it would be an uphill battle to rally 27 nations around a new charter unless they all cooperate.

Source: Xinhua