EU: French president Jacques Chirac says his proposal for a special European summit to address the concerns that led French and Dutch voters to reject the constitutional treaty has been accepted by his European partners, and that the summit will take place early next year - after the British EU presidency.
Mr Chirac made the announcement in an off-the-record briefing with a small group of journalists at his hotel. In a curious new trend, reporters are often allowed to convey the French leader's remarks on condition they use no quotation marks.
Earlier yesterday, the French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said the special summit would "clarify the political situation". At issue, he said, was whether Europe wants to be "a big market" or "whether we want a political Europe".
Mr Douste-Blazy said the summit would ask: "How can Europe compete with China, India, Brazil and above all the Americans? What should be the European social model? And finally, what should be Europe's place in the world?"
Mr Chirac said there will be a series of consultations to prepare the summit. Asked about criticism that the French social model creates unemployment and immobility, Mr Chirac said the French model represents the European model for most people, because it seeks to harmonise social conditions upward instead of downward.
France does not want the special summit to take place under the British presidency. "Imagine a summit presided over by Blair to address the anxieties of the French!" one source commented.
Ironically, British prime minister Blair has repeatedly spoken of the need for debate about globalisation, employment, immigration and security - subjects which the French also want to discuss. But Mr Blair thinks summits are a waste of time and reportedly wants to hold only one, rather than the customary two, during his presidency.
Mr Chirac sought to blame London for the possible failure of this week's summit, saying France's British friends found it difficult to imagine that one could question their cheque.
When Messrs Chirac and Blair met at the Élysée on Tuesday, Mr Chirac said their conversation was cordial, warm and open.
The French president felt optimistic, until he learned of Mr Blair's pessimistic predictions at his subsequent press conference.
European diplomats said Mr Blair barely spoke during yesterday's lunch, while Mr Chirac held the floor. Indeed, the French president was hoarse at the afternoon briefing. Mr Chirac said he was not able to guess what Mr Blair was thinking.
The French president bridled at the mere suggestion that the Common Agricultural Policy might come under discussion.
Mr Chirac began his political career as a minister of agriculture, and has been the farmers' best friend ever since. Forty years ago when the CAP was launched, Europe was dependent on food imports, he said.
Thanks to the CAP, Europe became the world's leading exporter of processed agricultural products, and the second exporter of raw products. If there was one success in the EU, it was the CAP.
At a time when other parts of the world could not produce enough food to keep up with demographics, it was outrageous to criticise the CAP the way Tony Blair did.
Though Mr Chirac thought it was absurd to link the CAP to the British rebate, and though he thought a freeze on the British rebate was insufficient, in the present state of things he was willing to compromise on both - on condition that the CAP was not touched before 2013.
The British did not think it would be tragic if the summit failed to reach agreement on the budget. Mr Chirac did.