Sarkozy to offer EU treaty solution this year

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would propose a solution for the EU's stalled reform treaty in October or December in consultation with Ireland's leaders.

Irish voters rejected the Lisbon treaty, intended to adapt the 27-nation bloc's creaking institutions for further enlargement, in a referendum last month.

"The French Presidency will propose a method and, I hope, a solution either in October or in December," Mr Sarkozy told the European Parliament as he set out the goals of France's six-month Presidency of the EU.

He added that without reformed institutions, the EU could not enlarge beyond its current 27 members.