French President Jacques Chirac assured Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Wednesday that the rejection of the European Constitution by French voters did not cast into doubt France's deep and historic commitment to the European Union.

In a letter to the Greek prime minister, Chirac stressed that France is a founding member of the EU and will continue to maintain this position with respect for all the obligations that arise from it and under his personal supervision.

The French president also noted that, even though nine member- states had so far ratified the EU constitution, the remainder had still to express their will.

He added that it would be best to devote the necessary time to analyze the repercussion of the French vote for the Union in depth and that this issue should also be addressed at the European Council on June 16-17.

The first-ever EU constitution treaty was rejected overwhelmingly in French referendum last Sunday, which stirs concerns and disappointment over the European integration all over the world.

Karamanlis, after the announcement of the French referendum result, urged the other EU member states to proceed the ratification process regularly without postponements, while expressing his disappointment over the French result.

Greece, along with other eight EU state, has approved the milestone treaty via a parliamentary vote.

Source: Xinhua