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European Council

That is why the constitution, in our judgment, represents a sensible set of rules for the future, but it has been rejected in two countries, and we must take account of that. On the other hand, I do not think that we will ever reach a decision that the European Council will not take such decisions on the basis of common agreement. If we had been in a position where we had agreed this deal last Friday, I really do not think that I could have recommended it to people. It was wrong in terms of the reform package, it was wrong in terms of finances for this country, and it was wrong in terms of the refusal to link those two things together. I do not think that we had the option of agreeing a deal, and it is unfortunate that our proposals, which were reasonable, were rejected.