Despondency at EU summit
There is much gloom and despondency at the start of this weekend’s The Inter-Governmental Conference in Brussels, with Tony Blair saying leaders “may well” fail to reach agreement on Europe’s controversial constitutional treaty by year end.
Representatives from fifteen of the EU’s current crop of member nations will join the ten newcomers this weekend at a meeting designed to put the finishing touches to the new overarching constitution.
But many leaders are pessimistic they can put the EU’s house in order in just two days.
Mr Blair is one of those. He said: “It is important for us, but it’s important to get the right agreement, not simply any agreement.
“The reason why it’s important to try to get an agreement – it may well not be possible – but the reason it’s important to try is that Europe is to expand to 25 countries.
“It’s going to be the biggest economic market in the world and Britain’s vital interests are concerned with making sure Europe works effectively.”
The chief sticking point is voting weighting.
Poland’s President Aleksander Kwasniewski has threatened to veto the proposed European Union constitution if the east European country’s voting powers were weakened.
Joined by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, Mr Kwasniewski wants to stick to the voting system outlined in the 2000 Nice Treaty.
Under Nice, the countries have voting power similar to power players Germany and France, despite having smaller populations.
But under the new constitution and with 10 new countries to join the EU, voting will be proportionate to population size.
Mr Blair for this part has pledged to protect his “red lines.”
Prime Minister Blair is in negotiations to secure concessions on tax, foreign policy and justice from fellow heads of government in Brussels.
