Hope Dwindling on Compromise for EU Constitution

Meeting with his EU colleagues in Brussels to prepare Friday’s decisive intergovernmental conference, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the document should not be adopted unless ongoing disagreements on its content can be resolved. “A bad constitution is not an option,” Fischer said.

His French counterpart agreed. “We don’t want to nail this down at any price,” said Dominique de Villepin, adding that rather than adopting pieces of the constitution, the adoption of the entire document should be postponed in case no compromise can be reached.

Voting rights crucial issue

Many issues still remain under discussion: EU foreign ministers on Monday discussed the size and shape of the European Commission, a mutual defense clause resisted by Austria, Finland, Ireland and Sweden and the powers of the European parliament and the Commission on the EU budget.

The voting rights of member states, however, have emerged as the most controversial issue. The draft constitution would implement a so-called double majority on decisions, which means that a majority of EU countries as well as a majority of the European Union’s total population of about 450 million would have to agree.

Countries such as Spain and Portugal would lose influence under the new regulation, since they want to keep voting rights in accordance with the 2000 Nice treaty, giving them almost as much voting weight as Germany despite populations of only half the size.

Poland suggests delaying decision

In a last-minute attempt to salvage adoption of the constitution, Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said his government was committed to finding a compromise. “Poland will do everything, absolutely everything, to conclude our negotiations successfully in December,” he said. Poland has suggested delaying a decision on the double majority until 2007 or 2008, according to wire reports.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has already said his government won’t go along with such a delay. “This is a point on which we are not prepared to move,” Schröder said after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Berlin on Sunday.

Schröder will meet Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski in the German capital on Thursday for final talks before Friday’s conference.

Franco-German summit to synchronize positions

On Tuesday, the chancellor will head west for a summit with French President Jacques Chirac in Paris. Both leaders have said in the past that they will not let hesitant EU member states delay the European unification process.