The new cabinet hopes to have finalised its position on a European constitution by the end of this month or beginning of April, european affairs minister Frans Timmermans told ANP on Monday evening. The paper, which will outline what the government would like to see in an alternative treaty, will then be sent to parliament for comments, the minister said.

Timmermans made the statement after holding talks with French minister Catharine Colonna. Both the Netherlands and France rejected the original consititution plans in referenda in 2005. In total, 18 countries have ratified the plan and seven have taken no further action following the no votes.
Timmermans and Colonna both stressed that it was up to everyone to find a solution to the impasse. ‘It is a problem for all 27 member states which we have to solve together,’ Timmermans said.
Agreement on what should happen now is one of the targets of the current German chairmanship of the EU