EU constitution talks fail to bridge rifts over key issues

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 09, 2003

EU constitution talks fail to bridge rifts over key issues

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The European Union (EU) foreign ministers met here Monday to settle contentious issues on a draft constitution but failed to close gaps over the new voting system, the makeup of the European Commission and European defense policy.

An Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) was held between foreign ministers from the 15-member bloc and its 10 would-be members, the last of its kind before the Dec. 12-13 European Council meeting aimed at finalizing the draft constitution and overhauling the institution for enlarged membership.

Although Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, whose country is currently holding the rotating EU presidency, claimed the IGC focused on defense and budget, the proposed new voting system still remains the biggest sticking point in a final constitution.

The new system proposes that decisions be deemed to have been made if at least half the EU's members, representing over 60 percent of the bloc' population, vote in favor of resolutions.

Spain and Poland, two vocal opponents of the new system, strongly demand the EU stick to the 2000 Nice Treaty, under which they secured almost the same voting clout as more populous countries, such as Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

At the other end of the spectrum, Frattini stood firm on the proposed decision-making mechanism.

"I don't think there's any alternative and this presidency won't accept any compromise (on the voting system)," said Frattini at a press conference on Monday. He even warned that the EU would either "have a good constitution or no constitution at all."

EU members also diverge on the composition of the European Commission.

Traditional large countries like France and Germany favor a trimmed commission from 20 to 15 full commissioners, with 10 non-voting ones. Some smaller countries insist that each nation should have one commissioner, a stance strongly supported by EU Commission President Romano Prodi.

Nevertheless, Frattini said Italy prefers a "smaller" but "decisive" commission. A bigger one "might work for a few years," but it would be too big and not effective when the bloc moves forward in the future, he said.

As for the hotly-debated defense issue, the foreign ministers of Finland, Ireland, Austria and Sweden submitted on Monday a joint letter voicing their strong opposition to a proposed mutual defense policy.

The proposed policy states that if one EU member is threatened by armed aggression, the others are obliged to provide military or other assistance.

The four countries said this proposal would be inconsistent with their security policy or with their constitutional requirement and demanded it be scrapped.

Frattini said the conference would take into account the constitutional situation in these neutral nations, and it would "seek the wording they need."

Leaving disputes unresolved did not upset Frattini, who claimed the disputes would be directly handed over to the European Council meeting, for the EU leaders "have a lot of imagination."

Meanwhile, Frattini said Italy "won't accept compromise" even when it reverts to being no more than a delegate rather than holding the EU presidency.

With these wide divergence prevailing at the conference, the EU leaders would be left to wrestle for a finalized constitution, which has already weathered a 17-month-long bout of haggling.

A press official of the EU Council told Xinhua that "there might be another IGC meeting Tuesday morning."

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