EU divisions on constitution grow
HONOR MAHONY
01.02.2007 @ 09:23 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Despite Germany's efforts to conduct negotiations on the EU constitution discreetly, the rifts between member states are spilling out into the open.
The UK Times reported on Thursday that London will refuse to sign up to any institutional changes if it does not secure a pledge that there will be no revival of the EU constitution.
London has already drawn its line in the sand (Photo: wikipedia)
According to the newspaper, prime minister Tony Blair only wants a mini-treaty that would include changes to the voting system and introducing a more permanent president of the bloc instead of the current rotating system.
Gordon Brown, the chancellor and prime-minister-in-waiting, is reportedly wanting to pursue a tougher line still, insisting that any changes that require a referendum should be taken off the negotiating table.
The UK's comments on the constitution are not isolated. The Czech Republic has also laid out its red lines indicating that it wants to re-open core parts of the text and curb the powers of the EU.
On the other side of the fence, Spain, having ratified the text by referendum, wants to extend its powers in areas such as immigration and the fight against climate change, a plea that has not been met with much enthusiasm by the other 17 countries that have ratified the text.
Meanwhile in France, the two main contenders for the presidential elections have set out their stalls on the constitution with socialist Segolene Royal calling for more social Europe to be put into the text and centre-right Nicolas Sarkozy arguing that it should be slimmed down.
In the Netherlands, the other country that rejected the constitution in 2005, there is also strong talk of putting the lid on the EU's powers.
The obvious differences between the 27 member states have emerged early in Germany's EU presidency although the real period of negotiation is only likely to be in four months time, when it is clear who is in the driving seat in France and who is negotiating for the UK.
German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier acknowledged the small window of opportunity during a visit to Warsaw yesterday indicating that a compromise package will only be on the table shortly before the end of Berlin's presidency on 30 June.
"It is clear to us that the corridor for finding a solution is relatively narrow," he said after meeting his Polish counterpart Anna Fotyga.
In the meantime, though, Germany is to continue its bilateral meetings with governments on the constitution, with chancellor Angela Merkel recently saying that the bloc would have an "historic failure" on its hands if it failed to secure a deal on the treaty.