New EU treaty unlikely, says Verhagen

It is now unlikely that there will be a new European constitution, but a revisionary document to amend existing treaties as suggested by the Netherlands, according to Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen.


Speaking after a meeting in Luxembourg on Sunday night, Verhagen said there was a ‘realistic chance’ that ‘every symbol which points towards a super state, such as a European flag, will also be binned’.
While there was no concrete outcome from the meeting of EU foreign ministers, Verhagen said he was pleased with events. ‘The fact that there is now the prospect of an amending treaty offers potential,’ he said.
However, the Volkskrant reported that Verhagen had failed to gain support for the Netherlands’ other proposals, such as a stronger role for national parliaments. The Netherlands wants to be able to block Commission proposals if a majority is opposed.
Verhagen also admitted that a lot of difficult issues still had to be solved before there could be talk of a new agreement.

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