Prime Minister Tony Blair tried to calm a political storm brewing in Europe over the EU constitution Tuesday by saying it was not dead despite a decision by Britain to halt a planned referendum on the treaty.

Speaking to the Financial Times newspaper on Monday before he flew to Washington, Blair noted that it was important to use a rejection of the constitution last week by French and Dutch voters as an "opportunity" to set Europe on a clear path towards a future that everyone can embrace.

As the 25-member European Union continues to expand "we will need that set of rules, and it is not for Britain to turn around and say the constitution is dead, and that is why we are not saying that today," the prime minister said.

His comments were published Monday evening after Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced that London had shelved plans for its own referendum on the landmark treaty, which had been slated for early next year.

The move rebuffs calls from Britain's EU partners, particularly France and Germany, for other members of the bloc to go on ratifying the text.

European experts have declared the constitution dead and buried following the referendum rejections in France and the Netherlands, but Blair said EU leaders should try to profit from the developments.

"The one thing I do know is that we have got to turn this (the No votes) into an opportunity for Europe," he told the Financial Times.

"With every setback, if you look hard enough you see the opportunity. And the opportunity now is to have a serious debate as to why this happened and how we set out a clear future direction for Europe on a basis around which Europe can unify."

Blair is due to take on the rotating, six-month EU presidency from July 1 and will be charged with steering the bloc forward during this tricky period.

A central concern will likely be economic reform. Blair noted that the lesson of the recent referendums was that people are worried most about jobs, the impact of globalisation, security and crime, and what European leaders can do to help.

If EU member states start to discuss their economic future and form some consensus "you will find that people will then give us permission to take Europe forward in what is a necessary set of new rules for Europe," he said.

"But if what we do is simply stand up and say well we are just carrying on regardless, I think people will rebel against that."

The prime minister described the constitution as "a perfectly sensible way forward" and warned that the European Union would face future strife if it failed to agree to adopt a set of rules.

As for speculation at home that a decision to suspend Britain's referendum would enable Blair to stay in office for longer than planned, he responded: "It means nothing for anything, it augurs nothing in that significance at all, either way."

The prime minister, who has pledged to step down before a fourth general election, also sidestepped any comment on whether he should set out a clear timetable for his departure.

"I think my responsibility is to carry on governing and let everyone speculate as much as they want," he said.

"I have just decided to let it all wash over me and carry on governing really."

The comments were made before Blair flew out of Britain, bound for Washington, where he is due to meet US President George W. Bush in a bid to win support for plans to help Africa and the climate at a G8 summit next month.