EU Seeks Extra Time to Keep Constitution in Play

But the struggling bloc's leaders are unlikely to do anything concrete beyond holding a half-time team talk as it prolongs a "period of reflection" for at least another 12 months. The EU's enlargement plans are also clouded by the constitutional limbo, with hopefuls like Turkey and other Balkan countries facing a yellow card amid the European bloc's turmoil.

While the soccer World Cup may provide entertainment in the corridors of the Brussels venue, there is little chance of any significant goals being met around the summit table.

"I fear a summit of fine words and good intentions and very few concrete decisions," said European Socialist Party head Poul Nyrum Rasmussen," adding: "This summit risks sending out the wrong signals at the wrong time."

Concretely, the regular EU leaders' gathering will discuss the state of play a year after referendums in France and the Netherlands dealt crushing "no" votes to the EU's first-ever constitution.

The institutional blueprint was designed to prevent decision-making gridlock in a union which expanded from 15 to 25 members in 2004, with Romania and Bulgaria hoping to join next year and a handful of others waiting on the bench.

Germany to the rescue?

But few now expect any real progress until after elections next year to choose a successor to French President Jacques Chirac, once the bloc's star player but now widely regarded as a lame duck.

Chancellor Angela Merkel recently raised hopes that she could end the constitutional impasse. Specifically she has pledged to come up with some concrete proposals when Berlin takes over the EU's rotating six-month presidency in the first half of 2007.

But critics point out that this will still be too early, given that neither France nor the Netherlands goes to the polls until May.

"In Brussels, which is fumbling along without a constitution, she is considered as the queen of Europe. It's no wonder, because in the land of the blind, the one-eyed is king," commented Die Zeit weekly.

Power of the public

The constitutional issue is being closely watched by EU hopefuls such as Turkey and Croatia, which on Monday started detailed membership talks.

Public doubts about EU enlargement were cited as a key factor in the French and Dutch "no" votes. And EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso warned Wednesday that further expansion was difficult without resolution of the constitution limbo.

"If we want to expand it further it's obvious that we need more than ever to change the rules of decision making," he said.

One topical issue which could force its way onto the agenda is Iran, after EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana traveled to Tehran last week to present an international offer to persuade Iran to suspend uranium enrichment.

On Wednesday, Solana said he had received his first contact from Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ari Larijani, since his visit, adding that it was "constructive." He is expected to brief EU leaders on the developments in Brussels Thursday, and a diplomat said further contacts with Tehran during the summit could not be ruled out.