Wednesday

6th Dec 2023

EU inches forward on Constitution

After a messy meeting in Naples on the Constitution, EU foreign ministers appeared to have agreed to having one Commissioner per country but remain utterly divided on vote weighting in a future EU.

The apparent agreement on Commissioners is a victory for small member states which have long fought to have "their" Commissioner in Brussels.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

However, it is unclear whether Germany would accept such a development. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer complained that more Commissioners would create more bureaucracy.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said it had been generally agreed that each member state should have one Commission per member state with full voting rights - but that the door will be left open for considering a smaller Commission "once Europe is totally consolidated".

"Once consolidated, some made the point that later, we should consider a smaller, slim, nimble commission", said Mr Frattini.

Hard fronts on Nice

However in the old chestnut of vote weighting, there was little movement. Spain and Poland have stuck to their guns in their support of the Nice Treaty voting system which guarantees them a relatively beneficial voting weight in relation to their population size.

During a debate on the issue of Saturday morning (29 November), both Spanish and Polish foreign ministers Ana de Palacio and Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz gave a long list of the benefits of Nice for guaranteeing efficiency and equality.

Ms de Palacio said that nobody had yet succeeded in convincing her about the new voting system.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, on the other hand, argued that the new system (which proposes from 2009 that decision would be made on the basis of a majority of member states representing 60 per cent of the population) would keep the balance between large and small member states.

For his part, the UK's Jack Straw suggested that there should be a "rendez-vous clause" somewhere closer to 2009 to decide whether Nice is working or not.

An EU diplomat said those who still really care about the vote weighting in a future EU are Spain, Poland, the UK, France and Germany - for the rest it is not such an issue.

Speaking to journalists afterwards Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini was a little unclear on what had been decided.

"We are all convinced that the Nice system will be in place until 2009", adding that all states were convinced that they wanted the most efficient decision-making system.

He did not give any more concrete details but the Italian Presidency is likely to propose another solution closer to the final Summit on the Constitution in two weeks time.

Diplomats say that several other equations were flying about in the discussions - such as a 50% (countries) -50% (population) or a 60%-60% system.

MEPs

Foreign ministers also agreed that the minimum number of MEPs for the smallest member states should be raised.

However, they did not agree the minimum only that it should be "a little more" as Mr Frattini put it.

Finally, the proposal to introduce qualified majority in common foreign security policy when the foreign minister makes a suggestion has been shot down in flames by the UK.

Mr Straw said that it would create the risk of generalising qualified majority voting in foreign policy issues.

All these issues will be revisited again when EU leaders meet in Brussels in two weeks time.

"It will be a long long summit", said one diplomat wearily.

Polish truck protest at Ukraine border disrupts war supplies

Disruption at the Polish-Ukrainian border by disaffected Polish truckers is escalating, potentially affecting delivery of military aid to Ukraine. A Polish request to reintroduce permits for Ukrainian drivers has been described as "a shot to the head" during war.

Brussels denies having no 'concern' on Spain's amnesty law

The Spanish government remains secretive about its negotiations with pro-independence Catalans, but claims the EU Commission has "zero concerns" about their proposed amnesty law for Catalan separatists. The EU executive denies that.

Interview

Why populism appeals to less brainy EU voters

People who voted for Brexit tended to be less clever, research shows, in findings that also shed light on the appeal of EU populists, such as Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who won elections this week.

Analysis

How Wilders' Dutch extremism goes way beyond Islamophobia

Without losing sight of his pervasive Islamophobia, it is essential to note Geert Wilders' far-right extremism extends to other issues that could drastically alter the nature of Dutch politics — and end its often constructive role in advancing EU policies.

Opinion

Tusk's difficult in-tray on Poland's judicial independence

What is obvious is that PiS put in place a set of interlocking safeguards for itself which, even after their political defeat in Poland, will render it very difficult for the new government to restore the rule of law.

Opinion

Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?

Six months ahead of the EU elections, knocking an 'elitist' climate agenda is looking like a vote-winner to some. Saving the Green Deal and the EU's climate ambitions starts with listening to Europeans who are struggling to make ends meet.

Latest News

  1. Crunch talks seek breakthrough on EU asylum overhaul
  2. Polish truck protest at Ukraine border disrupts war supplies
  3. 'Green' banks lend most to polluters, reveals ECB
  4. Tense EU-China summit showdown unlikely to bear fruit
  5. A look to the past and the future of China-EU relations
  6. Tusk's difficult in-tray on Poland's judicial independence
  7. EU nears deal to fingerprint six year-old asylum seekers
  8. Orbán's Ukraine-veto threat escalates ahead of EU summit

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us