New Constitution at Stake Will it take a miracle?

Unanimity needed at EU summit talks

By Thomas Fuller

BRUSSELS: Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister of Italy, said Thursday that it would take a "miracle." Romano Prodi, the president of the European Commission, said he was 66 percent confident of a deal.

As leaders gathered here for tense negotiations to decide the fate of the European Union’s first constitution, officials braced for a weekend of arm-twisting and horse-trading. Twenty-five governments must come to a unanimous agreement on the charter or return home empty-handed.

At stake is a document that could change the way the EU works in at least one fundamental way: After four decades of relying heavily on consensus for decision-making, voting could become as routine among the different governments as it is in their national parliaments.

The EU would change from a sort of gentleman’s club – countries now vote on only about 15 percent of issues – to a more mechanical democracy, with all the political consequences that entails.

Even staunch supporters of the draft constitution say the new voting system could make the EU more unruly. But they say it is better than trying to continue to manage by consensus with 10 new countries joining in May.

European Union debate on the draft constitution

Great Britain: Delete federal, drop "minister" and do not touch tax and social security.

Patrick Wintour and Ian Black

Tony Blair yesterday warned Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the president of the European convention, that Britain will not allow a new EU constitution to give the European commission powers over British tax and social security.

He also told Mr Giscard d’Estaing at their third and final dinner in Downing Street before the end of the convention that Britain wants the word federal removed from the draft text, since it feeds British fears about an EU super state.

Peter Hain, the British minister responsible for handling the talks, said Mr Giscard d’Estaing understood most British concerns.

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No 10^* insisted that if its concerns were not included in the convention’s final proposals, Britain would ensure it wins its way at an inter-governmental conference of the existing 15 nations.

Speaking in Brussels, Mr Straw, Britain’s foreign secretary, appealed for calm and mature debate.

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Urging the Tones to "come to their senses" on Europe, Mr Blair said: "The days of isolationism are gone. Our role now is to be a leading partner in shaping the Europe of the future, not following reluctantly the shape moulded by others."

Trade unions welcomed this statement.

The Guardian, December, 2003

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Uk revives bid for veto on eu laws threatening national sovereignty

By George Parker in Brussels

Britain is proposing that national parliaments should have the power to veto new European Union legislation that they believe encroaches on national sovereignty.

The move is a late attempt to amend the draft European constitutional treaty, which is expected to be adopted by EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on June 17 – 18.

Denis MacShane, Britain’s minister for Europe, believes the "red card" initiative would help to make the treaty more palatable to the national parliaments that have to ratify it.

Parliamentary resistance to the constitution is likely to be fierce in the UK, where Tony Blair’s government is rejecting cross-party demands for the treaty to be put to a referendum. "It is not too late to reinsert this proposal in the new constitutional treaty and would help make the ratification process a lot clearer."

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