Consensus on EU Reform Hard to Reach at Summit in Nice: ChiracVisiting French President Jacques Chirac said November 29 in Madrid that judging from current developments in talks, the 15 member European Union is unlikely to reach an agreement on a final bill concerning the bloc's structural reforms at the forthcoming EU Summit in Nice, France.Chirac, who arrived here Wednesday night, made the remark to the press after a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. Since November 22 till December 2, he has been touring EU countries to make preparations for the summit on December 7-9. The French president said the process of talks among member countries on the formation of the EU Commission and vote distribution in the EU Council -- the two "most sensitive and delicate issues" in the group's structural reform -- has been very slow. Thus, he predicted that up to the last moment of the summit, consensus on the two points may not be reached. Chirac revealed that the Spanish prime minister would stick to Spain's position in EU's five-power group, which includes Britain, France, Spain, Germany and Italy. Spain would also uphold the Council's policy-making mechanism of "unanimous approval," describing it as the axis of the EU. On the problem of vote distribution among France and Germany, Chirac expressed distinct disapproval at the proposal that Germany have more votes than France. |
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