BRITAIN has softened one of its “red lines” on the EU constitution, saying that it is prepared to abandon the national veto on some areas of criminal law to precipitate a deal.

The move came as momentum for agreement on the constitution by the end of June started to build. Most countries now say that they do not want negotiations dragging on into the autumn and beyond.

Ireland, which holds the six-month presidency until June, is expected to announce at tonight’s Brussels summit that formal negotiations should resume as soon as possible. After exploratory talks with important EU members, Irish officials believe that it is worth having another crack at the problem, although diplomats say that no official deadline will be set.

Talks collapsed last December when Spain and Poland blocked moves to reduce their voting powers, but hopes of progress have been revived after the election of a new Spanish Government that has promised more flexibility. Poland has also indicated that it may be willing to compromise.

Britain has been busy behind the scenes. Diplomats have said that they would be willing to abandon unanimity veto and accept qualified majority voting in some areas of criminal procedural law. Criminal law is one of Britain’s “red lines”, which the Government has promised to protect from changes at EU level.

Officials said yesterday that Britain was proposing that qualified majority voting should apply only to a small number of areas, in particular measures that would lead to common standards of arrest throughout the EU. On a range of other legal issues, including the court system and standards of evidence, the veto would remain.

Unlike most EU countries, the British legal system has evolved from common law. For that reason it does not want court procedures to be brought into line with the rest of the EU. The White Paper published last year setting out all Britain’s “red lines” makes clear that along with tax, defence and foreign affairs, ministers would not give up its veto over the criminal law.

An official said that the proposed changes did not mean that Britain was abandoning a red line. It would be in the interests of British citizens for there to be common standards of arrest across the EU, where people could be assured that they would have access to lawyers in the same way as at home, they said.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman confirmed that the veto would be retained only to protect the court system from EU-wide changes. “We will continue to insist that anything which is essential for our court system will not be changed against our wishes,” he said.

The Conservatives indicated their intention yesterday to maximise the Government’s discomfort over the constitution. Michael Howard, the Tory leader, said a government led by him would unpick a European constitution.

He said the constitution would be the biggest change since the 17th century to the way Britain governs itself. “This constitution is unacceptable to me and, I think, to a majority of the people in this country,” he said.

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