EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: COMPROMISE DEAL HIDES SPLITS OVER FATE OF CONSTITUTION.

MEPs voted by 385 votes in favour with 125 against and 51 abstentions for a report on the period of reflection on the future of Europe agreed by EU leaders in June 2005 after the No votes in the referendums in France and the Netherlands. UK Liberal MEP Andrew Duff, one of the reports two draftsmen, said it was a orescue plan for the Constitutiono.

The report has a number of key elements. These include:

- a series of oparliamentary forumso with representatives of national parliaments and the European Parliament to ostimulate the debateo on the future of Europe and oshape the necessary political conclusionso;

- the first forum will be held on May 9 (the day commemorating the declaration by the European Communitys founding father, Robert Schuman) in Brussels and will be attended by Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso;

- the forums will address six fundamental questions about the role and nature of the EU (what is the goal of European integration?, what role should Europe have in the world?, in the light of globalisation, what is the future of the European social and economic model?, how do we define the boundaries of the EU?, and how do we enhance freedom, security and justice?);

- conclusions from the period of reflection (both in member states and from the parliamentary forums) should be drawn in the second half of 2007;

- it says oa number of options remains openo ranging from abandoning the Constitutional Treaty project, continuing to try to ratify the current text unamended, seeking to clarify or add to the present text, restructuring or modifying the current text with the aim of improving it or embarking on a complete rewrite;

- a opositive outcome of the period of reflection would be that the current text can be maintained, although this would only be possible if accompanied by significant measures to reassure and convince public opiniono;

- every effort should be made to ensure that the Constitution (revised or not) should come into force in 2009;

- the report also opposes setting up ocore groupso of member states (as French President Jacques Chirac has suggested) and warns against ocherry-pickingo parts of the text for selective implementation, saying it would odestroy the balance between the institutions and among member stateso.

However, adoption of the report, which had been approved by the Constitutional Affairs Committee in December by a large majority, proved controversial...