France and Germany concur the European Union should agree on its new constitution by the end of the year and trust the Irish presidency to come up with a way to achieve this, President Jacques Chirac said today.
Mr Chirac, speaking during a working visit to Paris by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, said the sooner the EU agreed on this, the better.
They thought the constitution talks "should be finished by the end of 2004," he said.
Mr Schroeder said he did not expect the EU to be able to agree on the text at next week's Brussels summit. Spain has been one country holding up a deal, but the change of government there has altered the outlook for the constitution, diplomats said.
