Brussels, 10/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - At the request of several delegations, the British EU Council Presidency has decided to shorten the informal European Council at Hampton Court Palace to just one day, Thursday 27 October. Work is due to begin around 10 in the morning and end around 6 that evening, a Presidency spokesperson explained. Initially, it was planned that the EU25 Heads of State and Government should discuss the future of the European Social Model during two full days, but several Heads of Government apparently invoked timetable problems, suggesting that the discussions should be concentrated into a single day. The Presidency specifies that the meeting's (informal) agenda is not affected in substance by this change of timetable. Tony Blair, therefore, is still expected to give his colleagues an intermediary report on bilateral consultation with a view to reaching an agreement on the financial perspectives for 2007-2013.
The European People's Party (EPP) presided by Wilfried Martens, on the other hand, has cancelled its traditional summit that precedes the European Council meetings and which was scheduled for 27 October in Hampton Court, with the participation of the new Ukrainian prime minister.