Chirac has 'ambitious' reform plan for EU
French President Jacques Chirac said on Saturday he planned to make "ambitious" proposals for changes in the way the European Union works. "Our institutions are today not really adapted to an enlarged and modern Europe and we need democratic and more efficient institutions," he said in a brief statement to journalists at the Elysee Palace. A new EU constitution drawn up last year was intended to modernize the bloc's institutions and make its administration more efficient after eastward enlargement raised its membership to 25. But French and Dutch voters rejected the proposed charter earlier this year, making it difficult for French leaders to play a leading role in the project. A key step for the enlarged Union was to agree a long-term budget, which EU leaders finally did earlier on Saturday after long negotiations in Brussels, setting a figure for spending in 2007-13 after arguing over funds for new members and cuts in Britain's long-cherished rebate from the EU. Chirac noted that Austria would take over the rotating EU presidency next month from Britain. "In that light I will have the opportunity to make proposals, ambitious proposals for the Europe of tomorrow ... I will make proposals so that Europe can move on and ... become one of the main actors in the world of tomorrow," he said.
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