[JURIST] EU lawmakers now appear set to extend the ratification period for the European Constitution [JURIST news archive] after rejection of the charter by voters in France [JURIST report] and the Netherlands [JURIST report] threw its status into doubt. On Sunday Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose country formally approved the constitution [JURIST report] in May, recommended an extension [CRI report] to European Union foreign policy head Javier Solana and other EU representatives. The EU now sees a budget deal [AP report] as a more pressing issue. An extension on ratification at this week's EU summit in Luxembourg could bump the deadline for agreement to the end of 2008. France is unlikely to hold another vote on the matter until after its presidential elections in 2007 [Financial Times report].