Czech, Italian PMs clash on starting point for EU reforms

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and his Italian counterpart Romano Prodi on Monday publicly disagreed on how to begin to streamline the European Union. Mr Prodi, on a one day visit to Prague, called for the EU draft treaty rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005 to serve as the starting point for fresh institutional reform moves. The former EU Commission president said that what occurred in 2004 was a serious point of departure, noting that the treaty had been ratified by 18 EU members. The government of Mirek Topolanek, however, does not support the EU constitution in its current form and says the ratification process is ended as far as the Czech Republic is concerned.

The clash comes just over a month before EU leaders meet in Brussels on June 21-22 seeking agreement on progress for Europe's stalled constitution. Germany made the re-launch of the constitution a priority for its current EU presidency.