December 10, 2003	Wednesday	Shawwal 15, 1424

BRUSSELS, Dec 9: European Union leaders meeting in Brussels this weekend are hoping to finalise negotiations on a new treaty preparing the bloc for its May 2004 expansion to 25 states.

The plan is to hammer out the deal by the end of 2003, giving governments ample time to hold public referendums or secure parliamentary approval of the new constitution before enlargement.

But with governments still engaged in fierce bickering over sharing power and authority in the new Europe, the jury is still out on whether the bloc will have a new charter before enlargement.

The stakes are high. A new treaty is needed to simplify and streamline EU institutions and decision-making so that a union of 25 states does not grind to a halt. There are also hopes that the constitution, with its provisions for independent European defence and the appointment of a first-ever EU foreign minister, will give the bloc more global clout.

Many also harbour the ambition that a bigger and better functioning EU will become a counterweight to the US, helping to build a truly multipolar world.

Turning ambition into reality is not proving simple, however. The marathon weekend summit in Brussels is expected to be the scene of fierce debate, eleventh-hour haggling and perhaps messy last-minute compromises.

But many leaders — and those who helped draft a first version of the constitution — have warned that no deal may be better than a bad one. “We don’t want to conclude an agreement at any price,” Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has cautioned. EU paymaster Germany has also warned governments against accepting a “weak constitution”.

The list of unresolved issues waiting for leaders in Brussels is long and daunting. Securing agreement will therefore require skillful negotiation and a spirit of compromise. So far, however, both appear to be lacking.

Adding to the dismal atmosphere is rising concern over the dominant Franco-German role in EU policymaking. Smaller countries are resentful that Paris and Berlin successfully bullied others over application of the eurozone stability pact, successfully escaping millions of euros in sanctions.

Reports that the two EU heavyweights are planning a Franco-German Union if the constitutional talks fail are also fuelling anger and frustration among other EU members.

In addition, Germany and France, are demanding that the new EU treaty include a revamped voting system under which decisions can be taken if half the bloc’s members representing 60 per cent of the EU population agree on an issue.

However, this “double majority system” which favours more populous nations is strongly opposed by Spain and Poland which under the current system have quasi-parity with Paris and Berlin. Big and small EU nations are also locked in battle over the size of the European Commission. The treaty draft calls for the EU executive to be slimmed down from 20 members currently to a 15-member commission with an additional 10 non-voting members.

But this is fiercely rejected by smaller EU member states which fear increased bullying by the bigger nations and are demanding that each state should have a commissioner.

Disagreement also persists on whether there should be a treaty reference to Europe’s Christian heritage. Catholic states led by Poland, Spain and Ireland want such a mention in the constitution but France, which has a strong secular tradition, is putting up a fierce fight.

Adding to the difficulty, European defence cooperation plans, agreed by Germany, France and Britain last week, have run into opposition from the bloc’s neutral states. Austria, Finland, Ireland and Sweden are especially worried about the treaty’s references to a mutual defence clause under which EU states would automatically help each other in case of an armed attack.

Seeking to ease US concerns, Germany, France and Britain insist that EU defence cooperation will be in addition to the bloc’s commitments to the NATO alliance. But EU policymakers make no secret of the fact that the defence deal — as well as the appointment of an EU foreign minister — is a vital part of Europe’s drive to play a more powerful global role.

Despite the bleak outlook, it would be unwise to write off the upcoming summit as a non-event. EU leaders know that a 25-member bloc cannot function without new rules. And, equally importantly, that their hopes of greater international visibility are also at stake.