EU leaders finally clinch reform treaty deal

Sarkozy injected a feverish activism into the quest for what he dubbed a "simplified treaty", while Blair ended his decade in power without having achieved his stated goal of putting Britain at the heart of Europe.

Instead, he was forced to negotiate exemptions and opt-outs from key parts of the treaty to avoid a referendum which his successor-in-waiting, Gordon Brown, would almost certainly lose.

London won an exemption from the application in Britain of a legally binding EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as the right not to join police and judicial cooperation.

Eurosceptic critics fear a dilution of national sovereignty but many of the 18 countries that had ratified the constitution were dismayed to see the document watered down.

The leaders agreed on a new position to run EU foreign policy, but without the constitution title of foreign minister.

It will combine the existing jobs of foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who does mostly crisis management, and External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who controls the executive European Commission's big aid budget.

The new official will chair meetings of EU foreign ministers and head a combined external action service drawing on both national and EU diplomats from 2009.