Prominente Franse sociaal-democraat wil wijzigingen om EU-grondwet socialer te maken (en)

French Socialist support for the EU Constitution hangs in the balance today, as an influential party figure places conditions on his endorsement of the text.

Former Socialist Prime Minister Laurent Fabius said last night (9 September) that deficiencies in the text need to be rectified before his endorsement at the upcoming French referendum.

Speaking in a France 2 television interview Mr Fabius stopped short of calling for the text to be revised but said it was insufficient for creating a social Europe.

"It is too late to amend the text which does present some advances but also a lot of insufficiencies" he said, "I want a new employment policy put in place that guards against jobs going abroad", he said.

The former PM also called on the French president Jacques Chirac to ensure tax harmonisation across the 25 EU countries.

Mr Fabius in addition demanded a change of the euro rules, known as the Stability and Growth Pact, into a "Stability and Employment Pact" and he called for an increase of EU spending on education and research.

Demanding the impossible?

The Constitution was agreed only after difficult and lengthy negotiations among heads of state and governments from the 25 EU countries in June.

Getting a heavyweight such as Mr Fabius on the 'no' camp could have a major impact on an internal party vote of the Socialist party on the issue to be held in November.

The leader of the socialist party Francois Hollande and a number of leading party profiles are in favour of the Constitution, while the left wing of the party is opposed.

Laurent Fabius became France's youngest prime minister in 1984 when president Francois Mitterrand appointed him at the age of 38.

He is now one of the potential candidates of his party for the 2007 presidential elections in France.

Some 40 percent of the Socialist Party's membership is estimated to be opposed to the Constitution.

Ten countries have pledged to hold referendums on the European Constitution. The French President Jacques Chirac announced in July that France could vote on the Constitution in the second half of 2005.

France's last European referendum on the Maastricht treaty in 1992 saw voters split by the narrowest of margins, with 51% voting for the text and 48% against.