President of the European Commission (EC) Romano Prodi urged leaders of the member states ofthe European Union (EU) to show flexibility in the last phase of constitution making.

He made the remarks upon his arrival in Guadalajara for the EU-Latin America summit meeting, according an EC press release issued Friday.

"The Constitution is a remarkable achievement that should not be remembered for last minute "red lines" that this or that government imposed on others as a condition for compromise, he wasquoted as saying.

"All this talk about red lines can only cause damage to the main issue which is the good functioning of an enlarged Union," Prodi added.

The EC president was also asked about his favorites as the nextpresident of the EU's executive.

He said that no matter who will succeed him in the coming months, he has to be a strong politician ready to fight for Europe.The new EC will be functioning on November 1, 2004. The mid-June EU summit meeting to be held in Brussels is expected to name the new chief of the EC.

Source: Xinhua