Tony Blair (left) and Jacques Chirac

After the leaders toasted their accord, Blair said that most of the 25-member union had lined up behind his vision of an EU as a collection of strong and separate nation-states cooperating willingly, rather than the concept that the French and Germans preferred of the EU evolving into a "federal superstate."

The 300-page document titled "A Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe" must be ratified by all 25 parliaments of the EU's member states within two years to take effect, and in some countries -- including Britain -- political leaders have said that there must be popular votes to finalize the ratification process.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 26, 2004
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