Leaders set date to conclude EU constitution

BRUSSELS leaders last night decided at their summit meeting in Brussels they would seek to conclude the EU Constitutional Treaty by the end of the six-month Irish Presidency.

The agreement to set June 17 and 18 as the date to conclude negotiations on the Treaty represented a major breakthrough for the Irish presidency, and the intense negotiations it has conducted since January.

After talks on the Treaty broke down in December, there was widespread pessimism that fundamental differences could not be overcome in the short term.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told other European leaders last night that the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the Treaty must proceed on the basis that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

Indeed, last night’s meeting did go into the substance or modalities of the three outstanding issues which are: the voting strengths of countries; the size and composition of the European Commission; and each State’s representation in the European parliament.

Instead, leaders reached a consensus there was “shared political will to move to an early agreement”.

The biggest obstacle remains the dispute between four States over voting strengths in an enlarged Europe.

The current voting arrangements, agreed in the Nice Treaty, give Spain and Portugal, with populations of around 38 million, almost the same voting weight as Germany and France, with respective populations of 80m and 62m. Both German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac want the voting weight to more closely reflect the population base. The Irish presidency believes that a “double majority” reflecting a majority of both member states and of population represents the fairest system.

The task of reconciling the dispute over voting weight was made easier by the election of the pro-EU socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who is expected to adopt a less intractable position than his predecessor, Jose Maria Aznar.

There is also disagreement over the size and composition of the commission. With 25 commissioners due to be appointed after accession, some countries have argued the commission must be smaller if it is to be effective. The task still facing the Irish Presidency on reaching agreement was indicated by the outcome of a meeting of the 13 ‘like-minded’ EU and accession States yesterday. The group want each country to retain a commissioner.