Prodi eases back into European politics circuit

On a pre-summit tour of Europe, Italian prime minister Romano Prodi has spoken out in favour of relaunching efforts to engineer a European constitution after next year’s elections in France.

In the meantime, he said in Vienna, the integration into the European mainstream of not only Romania and Bulgaria but western Balkan states must be worked on in concrete terms. He also urged the 25 to take the initiative towards Mediterranean countries and further southward.

The successor to former premier Silvio Berlusconi said Italy is actively returning to European policy, and would coordinate with its EU partners. Austria’s turn as EU president runs till the end of this month. Prodi and Paris were also on the same wavelength. He and his host there agreed to encourage a Europe of projects and prolong the period of reflection on the charter rejected by French and Dutch voters but which has also been ratified by fifteen of the European Union’s member states.

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