Poland delays EU treaty deal

A day of negotiations behind closed doors between the German Presidency and the 'problem' member states, principally Poland and the UK, was not enough to iron out a deal on a new EU treaty yesterday.

Discussions are expected to continue today.

Diplomatic sources speaking to The Times early this morning following another session of talks between the 27 EU leaders expressed the hope that a final compromise deal is reached although they admitted it's not going to be easy.

"The latest position shows clearly there are still problems as some member states appear to feel too many concessions have been made to the Poles".

Despite these latest developments, diplomats yesterday night were still confident a deal would be brockered at the end of the talks.

A possible scenario being mentioned is a final agreement short of a unanimous consensus as Poland kept up the pressure until the last moment over a reform in the weighting of votes at EU council level.

EU diplomats have confirmed that the German Presidency kept offering the opportunity for compromise to Poland until the last moment, but Warsaw stuck to its guns.

"What will probably happen now is that the member states, without Poland, will agree to convene an intergovernmental conference (IGC) to be held under the upcoming Portuguese Presidency.

Poland would have time to change its position during the IGC, if it wants to. The EU seems, however, to be deciding to go ahead without Poland."

Asked by The Times if this is legal under EU laws, the diplomatic sources cited a similar decision in 1985 under the Italian Presidency over the discussions of the Single European Act.

On that occasion, the presidency decided to go forward despite the opposition by then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Malta, represented by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was barely involved in the direct negotiations with Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday although the Maltese delegation was kept informed at all stages by the Germans.

It was only late at night that Dr Gonzi met Ms Merkel to discuss the latest developments and how the new proposals laid on the table would affect Malta.

Malta's concerns prior to the summit yesterday seemed to be sufficiently addressed in a likely deal.

The new proposals will give the island an extra seat at the European Parliament as from the next elections in mid-2009.

Malta will keep its vote weighting and will include a definition on its island-state status with a capital city on the mainland which is important where it comes to future EU funding.

The main bones of contention remained with Poland which kept resisting till the end, trying to gain more concessions while making more enemies than friends among the other EU partners.

On Thursday, Poland struck the worst diplomatic chord possible for the start of the summit when its President Lech Kaczynski shocked his colleagues by stating that his country should have more voting weight as a compensation to its suffering at the hands of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Following three separate meetings yesterday between the German Chancellor and the Polish President, Warsaw seemed to be insisting on its rigid position by the end of the day forcing Chancellor Merkel to suggest to the other member states to keep moving ahead without Poland.

Germany was pressuring Poland to accept a lower voting weight within the EU for compensation in other areas.

Ms Merkel offered that the new voting rules would be introduced in 2014, instead of 2009 as originally planned, and give countries that fall just short of a blocking minority on controversial issues, the chance to force further negotiations.

Nearly all the EU states favour a "double majority" voting formula requiring 55 per cent of member states representing 65 per cent of the EU population to pass decisions.

Poland has proposed an alternative under which voting power would be based on the square root of each country's population. This would favour smaller states rather than the larger ones.

Asked about the effect on Malta of a double majority voting system, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo argued that this is looked at favourably by Malta.

The new system will give Malta even more weight than under the current system. At the same time, he pointed out that in reality, a vote in the EU council is rarely taken as member states try to reach a consensus without the need of reaching a voting stage.

The new deal will also keep various aspects of the defunct constitution.

The EU will now have a full-time president elected for two-and-a-half years, instead of the rotating six-month system and a foreign policy coordinator.

However, this post will not be called an EU Foreign Minister as originally planned. Neither will the new treaty be called a constitution.