EU tough talks on draft constitution end in failure

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, December 14, 2003

EU tough talks on draft constitution end in failure

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

The European Union leaders attending the two-day talks on the draft constitution failed to reach consensus on the sticking point of weighted voting rights on Saturday, leaving the bloc to have to search for other options in the near future to strike a deal.

The talks were deadlocked by Poland and Spain's refusal to surrender voting rights secured at a summit in Nice, France, three years ago. France was also said to have refused any compromise.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, which is holding the EU's rotating presidency, told reporters that the participants were still widely divided on the allocation of voting rights in the future Council of the EU and that they refused to have any low-level agreement.

"We feel this (postponing the conference) is not a right thing to do if our position is so wide apart," he said.

Berlusconi, together with President of the European Commission Romano Prodi and President of European Parliament Pat Cox, urged all parties concerned in the difficult negotiations to think with "a European mentality" instead of from a perspective of national interests.

Prodi said: "We've got back to work. I am confident we will find a solution. We should show European citizens that we can work together and are capable of tackling the problem."

However, the EU will not start the work from scratch again, he stressed. The draft constitution, presented by a Convention of 105members in June, can serve as a good basis. "We have to be responsible to citizens and history," he added.

The EU expands from 15 to 25 states next year, and agreement atthese talks was seen as vital for the smooth functioning of future mechanisms after the historic enlargement.

Analysts here said that the failure at the conference can be a heavy blow to the European integration which is now developing from economic to political and defense affairs.

Following the failure of the meeting, some diplomats here said that some founding members of the 15-member bloc preferred to have enhanced cooperation in constitutional affairs if others could notbe got on board.

Speaking to reporters after the summit broke up, British Prime Minister Tony Blair backed the decision to abandon the talks, saying that constitution making is a serious matter and that the bloc should take time to find the "right agreement."

It is believed that the failure to reach an agreement could deepen a split within Europe about the speed of integration. French President Jacques Chirac told reporters after the summit that he wanted to see a "pioneer group" of countries that wanted to push ahead with integration.

"It would be a motor that would set an example. It will allow Europe to go faster, better," he said. His idea of "two-speed Europe" was echoed by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, anotherstaunch supporter of the qualified majority voting system introduced in the draft constitution.

At the press conference, Prodi said that people should not point any accusing finger at any particular delegation, clearly hinting the countries which refuse to give ground on voting rights.

Berlusconi said before the summit that he had a "secret weapon"which would break the deadlock and force a consensus at the high-profile meeting. He reportedly offered four other options none of which was able to bring the antagonists ever closer to the middle ground.

The Nice agreement on EU expansion, reached in 2000, gave Spainand Poland, the biggest accession country, almost as many votes each as Germany and France, despite their much smaller populations.Warsaw and Madrid deem the subsequent constitution proposals as significantly diminishing their power.

The draft constitution is a delicate balance reached after 16-month consultation and haggling since the Convention was formed in February 2002. It would serve as the basic law governing all member states of the future EU. The heavy blow inflicted on the EU by the failure of the meeting would evidently add to the burden ofthe Irish presidency starting from next January.

The EU would take in 10 new members on May 1, 2004 and elections would be held next June to elect new members for the European Parliament. Therefore, the EU leaders are facing a much tighter schedule to crack the nut if they want to avert any major crisis looming large ahead.

Questions?Comments? Click here

EU constitution has "55 percent" chance of success

EU constitution talks fail to bridge rifts over key issues

Tense EU constitution talks enter critical phase

US TV dump charges not just a biz spat: Analysis ( 4 Messages)

China not to tolerate splitting Taiwan from motherland: Premier ( 3 Messages)

Trade war? A buying spree for cheap Chinese goods ( 3 Messages)

Moon probe to blast off in 3 years: Chief scientists ( 2 Messages)

Bush strategy: Spend now, pay later? ( 35 Messages)