Blair hoping to salvage key elements of EU constitution News
Blair hoping to salvage key elements of EU constitution

[JURIST] British Prime Minister Tony Blair [official website] said in an interview [FT report] Tuesday with the Financial Times that Britain will attempt to salvage some key components from the nearly-defunct EU Constitution. UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw [official profile] stated meanwhile that provisions on the voting power of member nations and role of national parliaments could be implemented without a formal constitutional agreement. The European Constitution was to have been subject to a British referendum, but this was indefinitely postponed Monday [JURIST report] after the document's rejection by both France [JURIST report] and the Netherlands [JURIST report]. The Constitution's fate will be decided on June 16 and 17 when EU leaders are expected to meet in Brussels to discuss the charter in crisis. Britain is the next country to take over the rotating presidency of the EU this upcoming July. AFP has more.