Czech delegation joins EU constitution talks in Rome

Representatives of the 15 European Union member states and the ten accession countries started talks in Rome on Saturday which should result in the adoption of the European Union Constitution. The Czech delegation is headed by Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla. Saturday's meeting is the official start of the negotiating process, known as an intergovernmental conference, to create a new treaty or constitution for the EU. The aim is to clarify who does what inside the EU and to ready the institutions to deal with a much larger union once 10 new members, including the Czech Republic, join the current 15 EU states next May.