BERLIN, Jan 4: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the European Union had to resolve differences over plans for a new constitution this year or face the risk of some countries moving on with closer integration on their own.

But Schroeder told the weekly Der Spiegel he would not compromise on his position that the weighting of votes in the European Council had to grant Germany a greater share of voting power to match its status as Europe's most populous country.

"We have put what we consider right on the table. We'll have to see if we can get a decision on this basis by the end of 2004 at the latest," he said. 'Naturally we will have to see if there are areas where we can come closer. But there will be no concessions on the weighting of votes in the council," he said.

Talks aimed at agreeing a constitution that would regulate the bloc when it expands from 15 members to 25 this year fell apart in December over a row about voting rights that pitted France and Germany against Spain and new entrant Poland.

Madrid and Warsaw both resisted changes that would diminish voting rights agreed under the Nice Treaty in 2000 that give their countries almost the same weight as much larger countries like Germany and France.

Schroeder repeated warnings that failure to reach a deal created the risk of a "two-speed" Europe, in which some countries moved ahead with integration in a range of areas faster than the EU as a whole.

"I don't want it but I have to be prepared that developments could move in that direction," he said. But he said both Germany and its close ally France remained committed to integration within the EU.

"The conflict in Brussels in mid December was a conflict about the different weight accorded to European and national interests. Where there is any doubt, the integration of the EU has precedence for Germany and France," he said.

Ireland, which assumed the rotating presidency of the EU at the beginning of the year, has said it will take soundings over whether the deadlock can be broken over the next six months but many analysts doubt a quick breakthrough will be possible.-Reuters