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The meeting of the 27 teams of sherpas - EU member state negotiators – showed there are still divisions in six areas - the Charter of Fundamental Rights, primacy of EU law over national law, the transfer of power between the EU and member states, common foreign and security policy, the role of the national parliaments and the voting system. The Charter of Fundamental Rights, listing citizens' social and civil rights, prompted the hottest debate last night, with strong arguments flying from both camps. The German Presidency has suggested there should be only a reference to the charter in the new reform package, but the UK continues to oppose it becoming a legally binding document. Similarly, Berlin has suggested dropping from the treaty the controversial line stating that EU law has primacy over national laws, and instead putting it in a separate declaration, which would accompany the treaty. But some EU capitals are not yet ready to accept the watered-down compromise.

French presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy has claimed that his idea of a mini-treaty replacing the European constitution is now also raising interest with German chancellor Angela Merkel. After talks with Ms Merkel in Berlin on Monday (12 February), the centre-right frontrunner in the French presidential race said that although Ms Merkel cannot publicly admit this, she is in fact sympathetic to his proposals for a slimmed-down version of the EU constitution

The voting system and where member states should have a right to a veto are shaping up to be the two biggest issues at the treaty summit next month in Brussels with diplomats already gearing themselves up for a long meeting.

Despite Germany's efforts to conduct negotiations on the EU constitution discreetly, the rifts between member states are spilling out into the open.

UK prime minister Tony Blair has said that the EU should not be looking to resurrect a new constitution but should rather focus on getting workable rules for the bloc. "It is important we go back to the idea of a conventional treaty where the idea is to make Europe more effective, work more effectively, because we now have a Europe of 27 countries rather than 15," Mr Blair said on Monday (15 April) after a meeting in London with Dutch leader Jan Peter Balkenende

German chancellor Angela Merkel is facing the first real test of her efforts to push a revised EU constitution as she seeks to convince EU leaders this week to include a reference to a new treaty in the EU's 50th anniversary declaration. Ms Merkel is likely to raise the constitutional issue during a dinner with EU counterparts on Thursday evening (8 March) where she will outline her ideas for the so-called Berlin declaration to be signed by EU leaders and institutions on 25 Marc

Spain has reaffirmed its role of a vocal promotor of the EU constitution with renewed criticism of the UK, France and the Netherlands, while Germany is also upping the pressure saying it wants a new-style EU treaty before the end of the year.

Segolene Royal, the socialist candidate to become France's next president, has said she is in favour of holding a new referendum on a revised EU constitution in 2009, proposing to make the treaty more attractive to the French by attaching a social declaration. "I want the French people to be consulted once again in a referendum in 2009," Ms Royal said after meeting Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday (17 January), according to press reports.

German chancellor Angela Merkel has told MEPs she does not intend to re-launch a broad debate on the revised EU constitution but rather focus on confidential talks with national governments, with the aim of having a commonly agreed treaty adopted by 2009. "The reflection pause is over. By June, we must reach a decision on what to do with the constitution," said Ms Merkel in her first speech to the European Parliament as the EU president on Wednesday (17 January).

European interior ministers have informally agreed to share personal data such as DNA as part of the fight against crime and terrorism, representing an important move in the sensitive policy area. At an informal gathering in Dresden, Germany together with the European Commission succeeded in rallying all 27 member states behind a plan to grant mutual access to vehicle registration data, DNA files and stored fingerprints.

Germany and the European Commission have downplayed a series of recent clashes over EU policies such as energy and justice matters, displaying unity at the launch of Berlin's six-month presidency of the bloc. The college of commissioners on Tuesday (9 January) met the German government in Berlin, kicking off Germany's stint at the helm of the EU which will see both Brussels and Berlin eager to avoid the frequent confrontations which characterised 2006.

EU states that have ratified the shelved European constitution must defend it with pride, say senior officials in Luxembourg and Spain ahead of a "friends of the EU constitution" conference in Madrid later this month.