Sweden has decided to put off its parliamentary ratification of the European Union constitution following Thursday's decision by EU leaders for a period of reflection on the proposed new constitution, local media reported on Friday.

"We will postpone our ratification indefinitely," Swedish PrimeMinister Goeran Persson told Radio Sweden on Friday.The parliamentin Stockholm had been scheduled to vote on the constitution in December.

"We'll come back sometime next autumn and decide if and when tomove ahead with the ratification," Persson said.

The freeze comes after the voters of France and the Netherlandsrejected the constitution.

Meanwhile, as the EU summit in Brussels has turned to the controversial issue of a long-term budget, the Swedish Prime Minister said he is very pessimistic about striking a deal. Persson told reporters it would be better to take another year andcontinue to negotiate.

Source: Xinhua