EU Commission to discuss EU constitution with Sarkozy

Photo: EU Commission to discuss EU constitution with Sarkozy

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit European Union headquarters on Wednesday to have a discussion about revised plans for the EU constitution which was rejected by French voters two years ago.

It will be the first meeting between Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso since the new French president took office last week.

"There are a lot of topics that are very burning that could be discussed," said spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen. "Some subjects are pretty obvious and they will be talking about those," she said, alluding to the constitution.

Sarkozy wants the EU member states to approve a limited core text which should streamline the decision-making process while shying away from many of the controversial issues that undermined the first draft of the constitution. Apart from France, voters in the Netherlands also rejected the text, which needs backing from all 27 EU nations.

Some EU nations reject Sarkozy's plan and still hope for a more sweeping text, while others seek an even more limited approach.

Sarkozy met with the president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, in Paris on Monday, and they discussed the future of the treaty, said Sarkozy's spokesman David Martinon.