All the problems related to the European Constitution Treaty (ECT) are expected to be solved by 2009, Austrian Federal Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer told reporters in Vienna on Friday.

A declaration (Berlin Declaration) will be signed by the leaders of the European Union (EU)'s 27 member states at a special summit meeting of the EU on Sunday, providing an important pulse for the ECT that would set a target of putting the 27-nation bloc on a new foundation by 2009, the new Austrian Chancellor Gusenbauer said.

Gusenbauer also remarked that the special summit meeting, which will be held during the 50th anniversary celebrations of the signing of "the Treaties of Rome", is an "important milestone" for the EU adding that leaders of the 27 member states will reach some important decisions on the ECT in the coming summit set for the end of June.

So far, the ECT has already been ratified by the Austrian Parliament. Gusenbauer hopes the ECT, which is very important to Austria, would contribute to the democratization of the EU.

The ECT was meant to simplify the way the EU operates as it expands, and establish a longer-term president and a foreign minister. It has been ratified by 18 member states, but all 27 must do so to validate it. The ECT was rejected in referendums by the peoples of France and the Netherlands in 2005 - two traditionally enthusiastic supporters of European integration, who are also two of the founding members of the bloc and signatories to the 1957 Treaties of Rome.

Source: Xinhua