Draft EU constitution lacks ambition and vision, insists president Prodi

Romano Prodi, the European Commission president, has denounced the EU's new draft constitution as disappointing, unambitious and "in some respects a backward step".

In a pro-European backlash against the draft constitution, composed by the former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Mr Prodi said that "despite all the hard work we have put into this, the text that is now before us simply lacks vision and ambition". Mr Prodi described his comments as a "wake-up call for the members of the Convention", which is made up of 105 politicians from the EU member states and candidate countries and chaired by M. Giscard.

M. Giscard also confronted opposition from his team of close advisers who again blocked discussion of his plans to create a new president of the European Council.

The preamble of the draft constitution now omits any reference to God and removes the pledge to create "ever closer union" in favour of a less inflammatory commitment to integration.

The page-long opening statement calls for a Europe "united in an ever closer fashion to forge a common destiny". While its meaning may be similar, the disappearance of the memorable phrase "ever closer union" will be seen as a symbolic victory for the Government, which has already managed to excise the word "federal" from an earlier text.

The preamble also describes Europe as being "united in its diversity".

Tony Blair ruled out any prospect of a referendum on the proposed new constitution yesterday, claiming that hysteria about the document was being whipped up by Eurosceptics.

"We do not govern in this country by referendum, although we do exceptionally have a referendum," he said.

Running to a page, M. Giscard's text is several times longer than the equivalent passage of the American constitution and was not universally well received last night. Andrew Duff, a pro-European Liberal Democrat MEP and member of M. Giscard's convention, described it as flowery and pretentious.

The document navigates its way through the minefield of religious sensitivities by referring to "the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe", which was "nourished first by the civilisations of ancient Greece and Rome" and characterised later by the "philosophical currents of the Enlightenment".

However, even this convoluted and poorly translated passage may prove more controversial than expected because it excludes any reference to Islam or Judaism.

It also describes Europe as the "continent that has brought forth civilisation".

M. Giscard has said that he hopes the text will be taught in schools throughout the EU but that the English translation leave something to be desired.