EU leaders converged on Brussels yesterday for their annual
summer summit, pledging to break a two-year deadlock on the
constitution. However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel revealed no
agreement had so far been reached.
"There are no results ... and the leaders have to further talks
tomorrow," Merkel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency,
told reporters, adding that there was a positive atmosphere.
Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, urged
all EU members to engage the issue in a spirit of"show solidarity
and commitment" so that the 27-nation bloc can have "a capacity to
act."
Poland, Britain, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands are all
pushing for changes to the constitutional road map, which would
help streamline the EU decision-making process. Poland, in
particular, has come under rising pressure to soften its stance.
Often depicted as the leader of the Eastern EU nations, Poland has
consistently opposed the "double majority" voting scheme envisaged
in the EU constitution, as it fears this would give more power to
populous countries such as Germany.
The "double majority" voting system would remove national
vetoes, and allow decision-making to be carried out by a 55 percent
majority of member states and simultaneously 65 percent of the EU's
total population.
Poland has threatened to derail the new treaty process if its
objections are not heeded and has come up with a new voting scheme,
suggesting that a nation's votes equal the square root of its
population.
The EU summit, set to last through Friday, has adopted
regulation which will see Malta and Cyprus officially enter the
Euro zone on January 1, 2008.
Beyond negotiations on the road map for a new EU treaty, the
two-day summit will be dominated by discussions over the Western
Balkans, and EU relations with Africa and Brazil.
(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2007)
