10/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - On the occasion of José Manuel Barroso's visit to Berlin, where, on Wednesday, he will be attending a German government meeting on preparing for the German EU Presidency during the first part of 2007 (see EUROPE 9282), the chairman of the EP Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Jo Leinen (PES), called on Germany not to accept complete reopening of talks on the Constitution. “Firm on the content, flexible in the form” is how the current draft Constitution should be, Mr Leinen says in a press release. “It is possible to complement the Constitutional Treaty with an additional protocol or political declaration. It is also possible to leave out those articles in the third part of the Constitution that are already part of the current treaties. In this case, only the innovations of the Constitution will be ratified”, Mr Leinen said. The aim is to have a new European Treaty in place by the European elections in 2009, he said. (hb)