European leaders agree on constitution

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Getting agreement on its first constitution took three years of wrangling. Now the European Union may face an even tougher fight in selling the charter on the streets and in the parliaments of Europe amid growing skepticism about the wisdom of more integration.\nThe historic deal, reached Friday night after two days of contentious talks, now must be ratified by each of the 25 member nations either by referendum or parliamentary vote -- and reaction in some countries suggested just how hard the pitch will be.\n"Blair sells out to EU," the British newspaper The Sun declared on its front page Saturday in lambasting Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Daily Telegraph said Blair had committed the "worst blunder of his premiership."\nSpain's conservative Popular Party criticized the Socialist government for agreeing to a deal that it said would lessen Spain's voting clout in the EU. Spain "is no longer in the group of important countries," said Angel Acebes, a former interior minister.\nThe treaty includes a 50-article charter of fundamental rights, including the right to free speech and religion as well as shelter, education and fair working conditions.\nIt also retains a requirement for unanimous votes on foreign and defense policy, social security, taxation and culture.\nBut to streamline decision making, the charter would end national vetoes in some 50 new policy areas, including judicial and police cooperation, education and economic policy. That's what alarms people worried about the EU evolving into a federal "superstore" that would erode national sovereignty.\nIrish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, who as chairman of the summit was credited with clinching the agreement, said he was convinced Europeans will embrace the charter.\n"This is a great achievement for Europe and for all Europeans," he said. He said that the treaty would help safeguard human rights and democracy and that its promise to promote peace "will resonate with all decent people."\nBut while EU leaders toasted their deal with champagne, they also had to admit they failed to select a new head of the European Commission, the EU's executive body. At least eight candidates were considered, including several prime ministers, but none could muster sufficient support.\nOpposition to the constitution is strongest in Britain, where a "Euro-skeptic" party came in a strong third in this month's elections to the European Parliament and Blair's Labor Party turned in the worst electoral performance by a governing party in decades.\nThe European Parliament elections also revealed Euro-skeptic sentiment in some countries that joined the EU on May 1 after decades of living under communist rule. Euro-skeptic candidates did well in Lithuania, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Poland, signaling governments there will face fights over the constitution's ratification.\nBritain and at least seven other nations will hold referendums on the charter.\nAddressing worries about the danger of an EU superstate, Blair suggested the bloc's 10 new members are already helping to blunt the long campaign by France and Germany to bring ever closer integration.\n"The truth is that in the new Europe taking shape there are allies that share our perspective. It is a new Europe. You can see the difference with these new countries coming into Europe and sitting round the table. They are our allies," Blair said.\nFrench President Jacques Chirac said he had wanted more powers ceded to the EU. "We, it's true, would have liked to have gone further still down the road of harmonization in social and fiscal areas, but of course we had to take everyone's opinions into account," he said.