The preamble of the Constitution now refers to “the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, democracy, equality, freedom and the rule of law”.

The Maltese government had been one of those governments who had been insisting for such a reference to be included in the EU

constitution.

Alongside Italy, Poland and a couple of other countries, Malta had written a letter to European Commission President Romano Prodi asking for the introduction of this reference.

However, as time passed by and the discussion about some of the more central issues in the constitution became hotter, the reference to God became one of the chips for barter between different member states.

At the end, it was only Malta, Poland and the Czech Republic that continued insisting on this reference at the General Affairs Council last Monday.

“They will not manage to pass it,” well-informed sources in Malta had said at the beginning of this week.

Also getting the chop from the preamble of the EU constitution is the long treatise on the humanist heritage of Europe as drafted by the Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the President of the Convention for the Future of Europe.

The Irish Presidency said it believed this draft “will find consensus in the framework of the final overall agreement”.