THE European Union was plunged into disarray last night after the dramatic collapse of the Brussels summit to discuss a new EU constitution. It emerged afterwards that France and Germany will now sidestep fellow members and push ahead for a two-speed solution to greater European integration.
Talks broke down over how power would be distributed among member states once the union enlarges to 25 members next May, with Poland refusing to accept a weakening of its voting rights.
Leaders of all the major European countries tried to put a brave face on the EU’s most damaging summit failure. Tony Blair insisted “the EU is not in crisis” and that agreement was still “not an impossible mountain to climb” .
But Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose country gives up the EU presidency at the end of the year, said simply that there had been “total disagreement”. Two years’ preparation was brought to a sudden halt at lunchtime, when Berlusconi signalled he had spent all night and morning trying to reach an accommodation without any success.
But last night France and Germany indicated their intention to bypass the gridlock they now expect from the enlarged 25-member EU. German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French president Jacques Chirac are expected to announce a new round of negotiations tomorrow, to fast-track integration between the two countries. This will widen their co-operation to such areas as justice, home affairs and other political fields supposed to have been the domain of the new EU constitution.
At the summit’s close, Chirac said he wanted to see a “pioneer group” of countries that wanted to push ahead with integration. The group would “allow Europe to go faster, better”.
Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt appeared to agree. He said that if there was no more progress on the cons titution in the coming months, then certain countries, including EU founding members, would “clearly” consider collaborating in the interests of European integration.
For Britain, that could spell being left behind by new European alliances and having to rely even more on its US relationship. Last night Blair denied a two-speed Europe would result from the summit failure and insisted Britain was still centre-stage.
There will now be a three-month lull “for reflection” before the Irish government, which takes over the running of the EU in the new year, picks up the challenge again.
Earlier, Berlusconi called the summit to an abrupt end after Poland and Spain refused to surrender preferential voting rights they secured in Nice three years ago. Both had been given almost the same rights as Germany despite having much smaller populations.
Most leaders diplomatically avoided apportioning blame . But Belgium’s foreign minister, Louis Michel, said Spain and Poland had “not been very attentive to the European interest”.
A renegotiation of the Nice Treaty was thought crucial if the enlarged EU was to function efficiently. But Poland refused to give ground, with foreign minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz saying: “If it’s not possible to agree, we shall wait. We’re talking about compromise, not domination.”
EU president Romano Prodi tried to gloss over the failure, saying a “second best” agreement would not have been in the interests of Europe’s citizens. The president of the EU parliament, Pat Cox, said the summit collapse “represented a failure of collective will”.
All 25 nations of the new EU must approve the constitution for it to become law. But agreement on enlargement was not needed yesterday, and in May the 25-state bloc will begin operating under the Nice rules, which will be in force until 2009.
But the political timing of any resolution may turn out to be crucial for Blair and his government. So far, the prime minister has been able to rule out a UK referendum, with ministers stating the new EU constitution was merely a “tidying-up exercise”.
But if the exercise is not tidied up quickly, or at least by the time the rotating presidency comes back to the UK in the second half of 2005, pressure for a referendum could well grow. At the same time, Blair may also have to face the dual goals of winning an election and carrying the last-chance hopes of an unresolved EU constitution.
A senior Labour Party source said last night: “That is the kind of political nightmare none of us here would even wish on our enemies.”
14 December 2003
Article republished, courtesy of the Sunday Herald: http://www.sundayherald.com
Please also see:
Sticking together
After a week of talks, the Brussels summit ended in disarray and embarrassment. But was this the killer blow for the EU, or just a serious setback? Angus Roxburgh was there to find out; http://www.sundayherald.com/38674
Goodbye to the great internationalist dream;
http://www.sundayherald.com/38673
Concern about defence co-operation outside EU;
http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?sid=9&aid=13901
Talks broke down over how power would be distributed among member states once the union enlarges to 25 members next May, with Poland refusing to accept a weakening of its voting rights.
Leaders of all the major European countries tried to put a brave face on the EU’s most damaging summit failure. Tony Blair insisted “the EU is not in crisis” and that agreement was still “not an impossible mountain to climb” .
But Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose country gives up the EU presidency at the end of the year, said simply that there had been “total disagreement”. Two years’ preparation was brought to a sudden halt at lunchtime, when Berlusconi signalled he had spent all night and morning trying to reach an accommodation without any success.
But last night France and Germany indicated their intention to bypass the gridlock they now expect from the enlarged 25-member EU. German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French president Jacques Chirac are expected to announce a new round of negotiations tomorrow, to fast-track integration between the two countries. This will widen their co-operation to such areas as justice, home affairs and other political fields supposed to have been the domain of the new EU constitution.
At the summit’s close, Chirac said he wanted to see a “pioneer group” of countries that wanted to push ahead with integration. The group would “allow Europe to go faster, better”.
Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt appeared to agree. He said that if there was no more progress on the cons titution in the coming months, then certain countries, including EU founding members, would “clearly” consider collaborating in the interests of European integration.
For Britain, that could spell being left behind by new European alliances and having to rely even more on its US relationship. Last night Blair denied a two-speed Europe would result from the summit failure and insisted Britain was still centre-stage.
There will now be a three-month lull “for reflection” before the Irish government, which takes over the running of the EU in the new year, picks up the challenge again.
Earlier, Berlusconi called the summit to an abrupt end after Poland and Spain refused to surrender preferential voting rights they secured in Nice three years ago. Both had been given almost the same rights as Germany despite having much smaller populations.
Most leaders diplomatically avoided apportioning blame . But Belgium’s foreign minister, Louis Michel, said Spain and Poland had “not been very attentive to the European interest”.
A renegotiation of the Nice Treaty was thought crucial if the enlarged EU was to function efficiently. But Poland refused to give ground, with foreign minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz saying: “If it’s not possible to agree, we shall wait. We’re talking about compromise, not domination.”
EU president Romano Prodi tried to gloss over the failure, saying a “second best” agreement would not have been in the interests of Europe’s citizens. The president of the EU parliament, Pat Cox, said the summit collapse “represented a failure of collective will”.
All 25 nations of the new EU must approve the constitution for it to become law. But agreement on enlargement was not needed yesterday, and in May the 25-state bloc will begin operating under the Nice rules, which will be in force until 2009.
But the political timing of any resolution may turn out to be crucial for Blair and his government. So far, the prime minister has been able to rule out a UK referendum, with ministers stating the new EU constitution was merely a “tidying-up exercise”.
But if the exercise is not tidied up quickly, or at least by the time the rotating presidency comes back to the UK in the second half of 2005, pressure for a referendum could well grow. At the same time, Blair may also have to face the dual goals of winning an election and carrying the last-chance hopes of an unresolved EU constitution.
A senior Labour Party source said last night: “That is the kind of political nightmare none of us here would even wish on our enemies.”
14 December 2003
Article republished, courtesy of the Sunday Herald: http://www.sundayherald.com
Please also see:
Sticking together
After a week of talks, the Brussels summit ended in disarray and embarrassment. But was this the killer blow for the EU, or just a serious setback? Angus Roxburgh was there to find out; http://www.sundayherald.com/38674
Goodbye to the great internationalist dream;
http://www.sundayherald.com/38673
Concern about defence co-operation outside EU;
http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?sid=9&aid=13901