EU leaders angry at Britain's Tories over Czech letter: report

(LONDON) - The leaders of France, Germany and Spain criticised the man widely tipped as Britain's next prime minister for urging the Czech president to delay ratifying a key EU treaty, a report said Saturday.

Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero were annoyed by a letter sent by David Cameron, leader of Britain's main opposition Conservatives to Czech President Vaclav Klaus, the Guardian reported.

Their frustrations surfaced at this week's two-day European Union summit in Brussels, the paper said, citing senior British sources.

Sarkozy was reportedly "incensed" at Cameron's intervention, which he saw as an attempt by Cameron to wreck the treaty. Merkel was concerned by his "untrustworthy" behaviour and Zapatero saw the move as "damaging".

Cameron's letter spelt out the Conservatives' plan to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in Britain if they are elected and it has not yet been ratified by all countries.

They have not spelt out what they will do if all EU countries have ratified the reform treaty and they get into office.

Most opinion polls put the Conservatives well ahead of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's ruling Labour with a general election due by June next year.

Eurosceptic Cameron's decision to quit the main centre-right European People's Party (EPP) grouping in the European Parliament in favour of an alliance with smaller, often eastern European parties has already raised eyebrows in Brussels.

Brown's centre-left Labour says that Britain will be pushed to the sidelines of Europe if the Conservatives are elected.

A spokesman for the Conservatives, also known as the Tories, said there had never been any secret about the letter.

But it seems not to have had the desired effect.

Klaus, whose country is the only EU nation still to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, said Friday he would not erect any further obstacles to passing it after winning an opt-out on one particular issue.