Merkel to hold bilateral EU treaty talks end-May

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans intense bilateral talks in Berlin with other EU leaders between May 21 and June 1 to try to find a consensus on a new European constitution, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Dated Jan. 2 and sent by Merkel to her fellow European Union leaders, the letter urges governments to appoint envoys, or so-called "focal points", to discuss the treaty on their behalf over coming months.

According to a timeframe attached to the letter, initial talks between EU envoys to prepare a declaration on European values for a summit on March 24-25 in Berlin are taking place this week and next.

Lower-level bilateral talks on forging a new constitution are to take place between April 23 and May 4 in Berlin, before a broader gathering of envoys in the capital between May 7-11.

The schedule underscores just how short a period Merkel will have as she tries to forge agreement between 27 member states on a replacement for a constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in referendums in 2005.

That treaty was designed to streamline the EU's decision-making and institutions following rapid expansion from 15 to 27 members. It would have scrapped national vetoes in some areas and created a European foreign minister.

Fears about enlargement of the bloc, particularly the candidacy of largely Muslim Turkey, are seen as the chief reasons for the French and Dutch rejection. On May 21, just four days after a new French president is expected to replace Jacques Chirac, Merkel is proposing a series of bilateral talks between EU leaders in Berlin to help finalise Germany's proposal on the treaty.

It is due to present that proposal -- a rough outline of what a new treaty could look like and a timeframe for putting it into force -- at an EU summit in Brussels on June 21-22.

Merkel has made reviving the constitution the cornerstone of Germany's six-month EU presidency which started on Jan. 1.

But the challenge is formidable. She will have to juggle the interests of the 18 EU countries which ratified the old treaty against those of France, the Netherlands and other sceptical countries like Britain, Poland and the Czech Republic.

On Thursday, the Czech and Polish presidents met in Warsaw and spoke out against excessive integration of the bloc, confirming their scepticism towards the constitution.

On Friday, the 18 nations that have already ratified the treaty met in Madrid to voice their support for the existing document and to signal to others that it cannot be buried.

The 18 nations that have ratified the charter are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. ((Reuters Messaging: rm://noah.barkin.reuters.com@reuters.net; Email: noah.barkin@reuters.com; Telephone: +49 30 2888 5091; editing by Steve Pagani))

Keywords: EU GERMANY/CONSTITUTION

[BERLIN/Reuters/Finance.cz]