08/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - French minister Dominique Perben told his partners about progress in France with draft extradition and judicial cooperation agreements with the United States. Diplomatic sources suggest he reported that neither the French houses of parliament nor the Conseil d'Etat were happy with the current draft of the agreements. France wants to incorporate in the extradition agreement reference to Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Treaties, concerning fundamental rights. France is continuing its bilateral negotiations with the United States. Other countries, such as Portugal and Finland, said they were in the process of consulting their parliaments. The Presidency concluded by hoping that all the procedures would be finished in time for the EU to give the go-ahead at the 5/6 June JHA Council for the agreements to be signed at the EU-US Summit at the end of June. We will return to this tomorrow.