In the book "Finland's Foreign and Security Policy Anno 2004", Tuomioja wrote that the new EU treaty should not have a clause in which the bloc's members bind themselves to armament in order to meet their obligations under the Union's future common defense and security policy.

"The EU's constitution would then be the only such document in the world that carries the name constitution and where one specifically strives for armament," Tuomioja, a Social Democrat, noted in the book.

If such an entry were included however, the treaty would be embarrassingly at odds with the United Nations Charter, which aims for universal disarmament, Tuomioja noted, adding that this target should instead be included in the EU's new ruling document as well.

Tuomioja wrote the book in response to commentators and opposition politicians' charges that the Finnish government had lost its aim in its foreign policy, FNB cited him as saying.

Ireland, which currently holds the EU's six-month rotating presidency, is under pressure to present a final version of the constitution before the bloc expands to 25 members on May 1.

A review of the work on the treaty is scheduled at a summit for EU leaders on March 25-26, according to Irish officials.

WAR.WIRE