British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government remained in a reflective mood on the future of the draft EU constitution, even after French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called for the ratification process to continue, a spokeswoman said Sunday.

The comments came as expectations grew that Foreign Secretary Jack Straw would announce Monday that Britain will freeze a referendum on the treaty after its rejection at the polls in France and the Netherlands last week.

"We believe that it is necessary to have a period of reflection in the lead up to discussions at the Council of Ministers meeting," said the spokeswoman from Blair's offices at 10 Downing Street, referring to a meeting of leaders from the European Union in Brussels on June 16-17.

Asked whether the Saturday talks between Chirac and Schroeder had affected Britain's standpoint on how to proceed with the constitution, the spokeswoman said: "There is nothing further to add. That is our position at the moment."

The French and German leaders, meeting in Berlin, agreed that the ratification process of the landmark document for the 25-nation bloc should go on after voters in France and the Netherlands voted against it.

Every EU member country has "the right and the duty" to take its own decision on the constitution, said a German government spokesman after the two statesmen met over dinner to plot a way out of the crisis.

Germany has ratified the proposed text, although no referendum was used, and so have nine others of the 25 member states, but the damage caused by the "no" votes in France and the Netherlands is severe.

It is likely to be further compounded by Straw's speech before parliament.

British newspapers said Straw would again insist on the need to respect the results of the French and Dutch referendums and announce a temporary freeze of the bill, which would have allowed the poll to proceed here in early 2006.