The British government has responded coolly to the German-French initiative to keep the ratification process for the European constitution going, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported Sunday. Commenting on the drive from Berlin and Paris, Downing Street said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac represented the views of only two out of 25 member states of the bloc, Reuters said on the issue. The British government would wait until the scheduled E.U. summit in Brussels in mid-June before deciding which course to take following the failed ratification of the constitution in referenda in France and the Netherlands. An unnamed Westminster source was even quoted as telling The Sunday Times newspaper that Mr Blair "was determined to bury the constitution," the report said. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is expected to announce Monday that the government would delay its referendum on the matter which had originally been planned for spring 2006. However, the government denied reports that Prime Minister Tony Blair had "given up on Europe", the BBC reported. ---SP 0007 Local Time 2107 GMT
