Polish president Lech Kaczynski said he is "not an optimist" after late night talks with Germany, France and Lithuania on getting Warsaw to back down on its unpopular plan to change EU voting weights.
The one hour-long meeting after midnight on the first day of the summit saw French leader Nicolas Sarkozy press Poland to accept a legal tool called the "Ioannina compromise" or "emergency brake" instead.
First designed at an EU meeting in Ioannina, Greece in 1994, the mechanism let...
Enjoy access to all articles and 25 years of archives, comment and gift articles. Become a member for as low as €1,75 per week.
Already a member? LoginAndrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.
Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.