EU leaders pledged to focus on delivering concrete results in areas such as immigration and the economy amid deep divisions over whether to adopt the EU constitution.
The EU's heads of state and governments clashed last night over the wording of a draft communique on the constitution setting a 2009 deadline for agreement.
States remain split on whether the constitution can be introduced in full or whether it should be amended following its rejection by the French and Dutch in referendums last year. Instead of concentrating on the constitution EU leaders decided on a twin-track approach to focus on concrete projects to bring value to citizens and create the right conditions for a future institutional agreement.
The draft communique urges Germany, which will hold the presidency of the EU in the first half of next year, to present a report to the European Council in June 2007 detailing a way forward. It also says that the necessary steps on the reform process will have to be taken by the second half of 2008 for future implementation.
However, the proposal to place a deadline for the ratification and implementation of the EU constitution was opposed by several states, including Ireland.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said there was no agreement that this period was finite. "But I think people understand that the European elections in 2009 is the outer limit." This was not a deadline, he said, "but things have to be dealt with by then if possible".
The EU constitution, which was negotiated under the Irish presidency of the EU in 2004, proposes to redefine the powers of the EU and create an EU foreign minister.
However, its future is increasingly being called into question due to the refusal of France and the Netherlands, reiterated last night, to consider holding a second referendum on the draft treaty.
Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said EU leaders were stuck between those wanting to renegotiate the constitution and those wanting to retain it in full. "Some have said 'no' and some have said 'yes' and this is the reason we are not going to find a solution at this summit and why we are going to prolong the reflection period."
Ireland was one of three states criticised by the president of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, for not moving ahead with the ratification process for the EU constitution. In an address to EU leaders at the start of the summit, Mr Borrell accused states that had halted the ratification of the constitution of hiding behind the failure of last year's French and Dutch referendums.
Ireland, Denmark and Britain have decided not to hold referendums until a new way forward is decided on by EU states.