Chirac V Merkel

French plans to break the EU’s constitutional deadlock have put the country on a collision course with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

French President Jacque Chirac’s plans to ratify the less controversial parts of the treaty “in the framework of the current treaties”, has been rejected by Merkel. Berlin insists that ‘cherry-picking’ aspects of the text would “seriously damage the overall balance” of the constitution.

Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said “I don’t want to see any new dividing lines running through Europe," eupolitix.com