He added that a series of national ratifications - like the current system which has been stalled since the French and Dutch rejections of the constitution last year - are "rather dangerous".

"I think this is the only way out" said the chancellor who proposes that the constitution would be passed by a double majority of countries and population and be held at the same time as the European elections in 2009.

But Mr Schussel acknowledged that it was not the perfect solution saying that there would need to be an additional ratification by all 25 member states to launch any EU-wide referendum.

It is also an idea that has not garnered support among his colleagues, he admitted. "I got some silent support from friends and colleagues but officially it is a no-go", he said referring to last week's EU summit.

For his part, European Parliament chief Josep Borrell, stressing that it was his personal opinion, said he also supported the idea of a Europe-wide poll during the 2009 elections.

But added he did not think a majority in support of the proposal could be found in the parliament.

MEPs criticise lack of direction

Although Mr Schussel presented an upbeat and optimistic assessment of the outcome of last week's summit where member states agreed to move from a period of reflection to a period of action on the constitution question, several MEPs were less than impressed.

The main criticism was that EU leaders had avoided the thorny issues and instead opted to put off coming up with concrete answers until the second half of 2008.

Martin Schulz, head of the Socialists in the European Parliament, said "we've wasted another year [on institutional reforms]...basically, there's been another postponement. That's the message we got from this council."

"Let's look at the results. What have we got today? An extended limbo, an extended silence. The presidency did not fullfil its mandate", said Monica Frassoni, co-president of the Greens.

Sylvana Koch-Mehrin, from the liberals, also criticised the proposal to have a political declaration by EU leaders on the goals and ambitions of the bloc to mark its 50-year anniversary next March, saying the drafting process should involve citizens more.

At last week's meeting, EU leaders outlined a general timetable on the constitution agreeing that Germany should make a report on the situation in the first half of 2007 and that concrete answers should be given under the French EU presidency in the second half of 2008.

They remained divided though on the whole ratification procedure with 16 member states already having ratified, or on the way to ratifying, and some of the remaining states deeply reluctant to proceed unnecessarily.