Europese Commissie geeft rode draad aan in nieuw EU-verdrag (En)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has issued a warning to states such as the UK and the Netherlands seeking to "roll back" what it sees as key parts of the EU constitution.

The intervention came after the college of commissioners on Monday (14 May) held a seminar on the disputed EU constitution at Groot-Bijgaarden castle, just outside Brussels.

Briefing journalists after the seminar, the spokesman for European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said "the new treaty must improve the EU's achievements, under no circumstances roll back these achievements."

The commission, which has generally been reluctant to wade into member states' sensitive debate on the fate of the constitution - rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005 - has now given first indication of what its red lines are.

"The red lines when it comes to preserving the [European] community method and the single market must be clearly established," the spokesman said amid ongoing renegotiations of the new treaty.

The so-called "community method" is EU jargon meaning decision making at the EU level, where member states generally lose their national veto and major powers are transferred to the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Commission officials said the "community method" remark was above all directed at the UK and the Czech Republic which are unhappy with the reduction of national veto powers - especially in the area of justice and home affairs -as proposed in the old constitution.

London is said to oppose the scrapping of its veto powers all together, while Prague is promoting a system whereby minorities of member states can opt out of decisions taken by a majority.

Meanwhile, Brussels' "red line" on the EU's single market appears to stem from its worries that states like the Netherlands and France will use the renegotiation of the treaty to secure limits to the application of free market legislation.

Single market worries

The Hague is pushing for reassurances in a new look treaty that national sovereignty over pensions, social security and health is not eroded by an ever-expanding scope of the single market.

Brussels' warning was also partly directed at France, officials said, with Paris' new president Nicolas Sarkozy expected to take a nationalistic stance on issues like foreign take-overs of French companies.

The commission also indicated it supports ideas for a pared down version of a new treaty. "It is clear that when it comes to finding a solution, simplification is the name of the game," the spokesman said.

"But it must be clear that the discussion does not start from scratch," he added. "The constitutional treaty is the starting point for discussion."