EU upbeat about reaching constitution consensus by June summit

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 26, 2004

EU upbeat about reaching constitution consensus by June summit

European Union (EU) leaders agreed Thursday to restart talks over the bloc's first constitution and they are expected to reach a consensus by the June 17-18 summit.

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European Union (EU) leaders agreed Thursday to restart talks over the bloc's first constitution and they are expected to reach a consensus by the June 17-18 summit.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said there was strong "politicalwill" to wrap up the talks when the 25 current and future EU leaders meet here for a two-day summit.

"We had a very positive discussion. I asked colleagues to commit themselves to a timeframe" in order to reach conclusion, Ahern said at the press briefing after the meeting. "We agreed to do so no later than June," he said.

"There is a strong will to find a way forward and I think that everyone understands that there will have to be compromise," he added.

Hailing a "breakthrough" in the constitution standoff, EuropeanCommission President Romano Prodi said the "political will" demonstrates that the constitutional talks "can get practical results."

"I very much hope we can complete the work as soon as possible...it would be a great result," said Prodi.

The constitution negotiations collapsed last December mainly because Spain and Poland stood against a new voting system, which would deny them an influential voting clout disproportionate to their populations.

Under the 2000 Nice treaty, Poland and Spain enjoyed a voting power almost as influential as those more populous European heavyweights, like Germany, France, Britain and Italy. However, a proposed voting system in the new constitution allocates votes according to every member's population.

Optimism surfaced when Poland signaled earlier this year that it would back down from its previous position, while Spain echoed this view when the seating government was voted out of power on March 14 general elections, three days following the Madrid train bombing.

However, neither Ahern nor Prodi specified what compromises theEU leaders had made over key disputes like the composition of the European Commission and the double majority voting system.

Ahern merely said some EU leaders had indicated they would makecompromises on some issues.

The new constitution, the first in EU history, is aimed at helping the bloc function more smoothly when it enlarged from the current 15 members to 25 this May.

Source: Xinhua

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