An official of the European Union warned Monday that the bloc could be enmeshed in a deeper crisis after it failed to pass a draft constitution. 

"The present situation in Europe after the summit last week in Brussels...has the potential of escalation. There can be a serious crisis," said EU Expansion Commissioner Gunter Verheugen, who arrived in Prague for a visit on Monday.

The two-day EU summit from Dec. 12 failed to reach a final agreement on a draft constitution, which had been presented in June and was seen as vital for the EU to effectively function after its enlargement.

The Final agreement failed over issues including the qualified majority voting system.

Verheugen told a press conference after talks with Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda that the EU's 15 members should take time to ponder on an agreement. "It is probably a mistake to set the end of the Italian rotating presidency as the deadline for agreement," he said.

But the Commissioner from Germany was still confident of the constitution's prospect, despite French and German threats to increase closer integration and create a two-speed Europe.

He said the failure of the summit would not endanger the EU's plan to accept 10 new members including the Czech Republic and Poland next year.

"I am still confident that it is possible to find a compromise solution," Verheugen said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2003)