FRANCE: European diplomats here had hoped President Jacques Chirac would define his plans to give new impetus to Europe at his New Year reception for the diplomatic corps yesterday.
Following last month's agreement on the EU budget, Mr Chirac promised to "take initiatives" to relaunch Europe. He reiterated the commitment in his televised New Year's Eve address: "We can no longer wait [ to improve European institutions]. That is why I will quickly take initiatives to relaunch the construction of political and social projects."
Mr Chirac said yesterday: "I want 2006 to be the year of a new beginning for the European Union." But his speech was short on specific ways to achieve that new beginning.
The president repeated calls for more investment in research and innovation, proposed a European energy policy and better co-operation in internal security, justice, foreign policy and defence.
The six-month Austrian presidency this week took up a German idea of adding a commitment to preserve Europe's social model to the EU constitution, in the hope it would convince French voters to reassess their rejection of the treaty.
"France supports the efforts of the Austrian presidency to promote . . . a Europe that would at the same time be more competitive and more social, more just and showing more solidarity," Mr Chirac told ambassadors.
In a message to Europeans which Mr Chirac put on the Élysée's website this week, he said: "We must work to build a genuinely social Europe in which the fruits of progress are shared out equitably, for the benefit of all."
Yet French officials are reluctant to re-submit the treaty to French voters. And Germany is reportedly resisting French attempts to implement key institutional provisions of the treaty without completing ratification.
Standing in front of the European and French flags, Mr Chirac said: "The European Union needs more democratic, more effective and more transparent institutions. Planned enlargements strengthen this need, for the institutional status quo would condemn the Union to inertia and paralysis."
This was precisely the goal of the stalled constitution.
Mr Chirac said the June deadline which will end the period of reflection on the constitution was very important, and France was working with Germany and the Austrian presidency "so that it results in concrete progress for Europe".
He revived the idea of smaller "pioneer groups" moving ahead of the 25-member Union. He clearly sees the euro zone as the core group. Members of the zone "have a natural vocation to deepen their political, economic, fiscal and social integration".
On Lebanon, Mr Chirac said he expected Syria to co-operate fully with the UN commission investigating the assassination of his friend, the former prime minister Rafik Hariri, and to respect Lebanese sovereignty. Syria's return to the community of nations depended on it changing its behaviour.