Blair Gives Dutch PM Warm Welcome

The Dutch Premier, Wim Kok, who hosts the crucial EU summit in Amsterdam next month, asked for the talks with the new Government.

After the meeting, Mr Kok said there were still "burning issues" to be solved in Europe, but Labour's decision to sign the Social Chapter was "an enormous step forward".

"It would really have been impossible to come to further agreement on all the other issues ... so this is already something to be very happy about. But the rest has to follow," he said.

"We still have some burning issues on the so-called flexibility and enhanced co-operation, if it is possible within the treaty for co-operation between a large majority of countries even if one or two are not yet able to participate," he continued.

"We have some major institutional matters relating to the role of the European Parliament, and also the size of the Commission and vote-weighting," added Mr Kok.

An informal European summit would be held in two weeks' time in the Netherlands to consider those problems.

Downing Street is adamant that there was "no question" of Britain giving up border controls and insisted that British interests would come "first, second and third" when it came to making decisions at Amsterdam.

But added that there would be an end to the "ridiculous ideological hatreds" over Europe that dogged the Tory years. There would be "dialogue rather than war", a spokesman said.

The Dutch accept that removing border controls is out of the question for Britain, a fact recognised in draft revisions to the Treaty it has have tabled.

A relaxation of the Treaty proposal for Britain and Ireland - the EU's two island nations - would give the countries opt-outs from the requirement to abolish all internal border controls inside the EU.

But that leaves sensitive issues still to be thrashed out, such as a common European defence policy, the speed of closer integration and more powers for the European Court of Justice.