EU member states should complete the ratification of the first EU constitution despite the negative outcome of referendums in France and the Netherlands, Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič said.
Gašparovič, who refused to sign the document after the Slovak parliament voted to accept it last year, has had the document on his desk since June 2005. His signature would conclude the ratification process in Slovakia, the SITA news agency wrote.
The Slovak Constitutional Court is also deliberating on the document, although presidential spokesman Marek Trubač said the president is not waiting for the court's decision. He has until October to sign it, at which point the ratification process across the EU should be complete.
Although the president believes the ratification should be completed, he personally does not identify with the contents of the document, and believes that EU members should agree on a new text.
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
