Europe treaty summit waits for Blair

European leaders are preparing to delay completion of a treaty to reform the union until after the target date of June, in order to help Tony Blair. They accept that if the Labour leader is elected next May, he will not have time to sign the treaty at the Amsterdam summit in June.

Despite public declarations that the treaty will be signed next June, a delay of four months is currently being canvassed among heads of government. A concluding summit is now planned for October in Luxembourg.

European leaders are also offering special channels of communication to Labour, ahead of the election, to ensure that Mr Blair is kept informed of treaty negotiations and is able to conduct talks with his future partners.

The Netherlands, which assumes the six-month European Union presidency in January, is proposing to keep Mr Blair, and Robin Cook, the shadow Foreign Secretary, fully briefed on developments in the negotiations.

The moves demonstrate how European governments are now counting on the election of Mr Blair as prime minister, probably next May, and are already preparing to welcome him into their fold. Frustrated by years of sniping by the Conservatives, they are now eagerly awaiting a more positive contribution from Labour as they attempt to deepen integration, which John Major has insisted he will block.

Labour has publicly insisted that it would be ready to sign the treaty by the Amsterdam summit and has not formally requested a delay. However, the task of negotiating complex and far-reaching treaty changes in a few weeks would be daunting for an incoming government. Furthermore, the party clearly does not want to be "ambushed" into signing away powers without adequate time to consider the implications.

Mr Cook has let it be known that Labour would not be prepared to sign up to a treaty it had not had time fully to examine. He is understood to have hinted, during a recent meeting in London with Jacques Poos, the Luxembourg Prime Minister, that it might be wise to make "contingency plans" for a delay. Luxembourg, which takes over the EU presidency in the second half of next year, has therefore canvassed other EU countries, and the European Commission, on later dates. A preparatory summit is envisaged for July, and a final summit for October.

Britain's partners have been wary of delay, for fear of setting back the process of enlarging the EU to the east. However, it is not only in Labour's interests to secure a delay. Treaty changes are all subject to a national veto, and the EU needs Britain's co-operation if it is to complete its next reform project.

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