Brussels - The European Union's new members from central and eastern Europe must be constructive at the bloc's summit this week by helping strike a deal on a new EU treaty, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Tuesday.
Barroso, speaking ahead of a make-or-break EU summit on June 21- 22, said failure in Brussels would damage Europe's international credibility as well as its standing among European citizens.
New member states had the chance to show that their membership was not making EU life more difficult, but giving new impetus to Europe, said Barroso.
In an implicit reference to Poland which is demanding a controversial revamp of EU voting rules - a move opposed by others - Barroso said he wanted 'active and constructive cooperation of new member states.'
Countries should not come to the summit with 'red lines and vetoes,' said Barroso, warning that failure at the meeting would create 'mistrust' among EU states and damage the bloc's 'mechanisms of solidarity' under which rich nations help others through financial transfers.
'It is not in the interest of any member states to be seen as a hardliner,' said the commission chief, adding: 'Please do not block' agreement.
Barroso insisted that there was a 'real opportunity for a deal' and urged countries to be 'decisive, constructive and not be guided by out-dated language of victory and defeat.' Echoing appeals made by Germany which is current holder of the EU presidency, Barroso said failure to clinch a treaty deal would mean 'there will only be losers. If we succeed we can all be winners.' EU leaders at the summit are hoping to launch negotiations on a so-called 'amended' or 'reformed' treaty which would be a simplified version of the document rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. Officials say the new treaty - no longer called a 'constitution' - is needed to streamline EU decision-making following the bloc's 2004 'big bang' enlargement to include ten new members. Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in January 2007. However, preparations for the EU summit, to be chaired by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have been overshadowed by strident Polish demands for a revamp of the bloc's voting system, a move opposed by almost all other EU states. Germany has warned that opening the hard-fought compromise on EU voting rights included in the current draft treaty would open a chaotic Pandora's box of equally difficult and contradictory demands from other EU states. Warsaw is demanding fresh EU talks on voting procedures in a bid to increase its weight in the bloc;s decision-making, especially compared to larger countries such as Germany. The 'double majority' system included in the current EU draft treaty says EU decisions require the support of 55 per cent of member states, representing 65 per cent of the population.
But Poland has proposed an alternative voting system based on the square root of each country's population. Barroso insisted that a new treaty was needed to enable the EU to deal with key challenges, including immigration, terrorism and climate change. While Polish demands are expected to dominate the Brussels meeting, other countries are also coming to the meeting with requests in hand. The status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights remains controversial, with Britain opposing a document that is legally binding. France and Spain are demanding the scrapping of a number of national vetoes including in justice and police matters, a move Britain opposes. Other outstanding issues for the summit include whether the EU should have a single legal personality, enabling it to sign international agreements and Dutch demands that national parliaments have a greater say in EU policy-making. If EU leaders are successful in Brussels, another intergovernmental conference to negotiate details of the new treaty will start in autumn. Negotiations are expected to be completed by the end of the year, allowing the new treaty to be ratified and enter into force by summer 2009 to coincide with elections to the EU parliament.
Source : news.monstersandcritics.com
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