The EU's French presidency offered the draft on the fourth day of a marathon EU summit called to reform EU decision making and prepare the 15-nation bloc for the entry of up to 12 new members in the next decade. Reuters obtained a copy.

A new compromise proposal put to European Union leaders on Sunday would maintain voting parity between France and Germany but boost the number of votes for Poland, the Netherlands and most smaller countries. The EU's French presidency offered the draft on the fourth day of a marathon EU summit called to reform EU decision making and prepare the 15-nation bloc for the entry of up to 12 new members in the next decade. To compensate Germany, which had been seeking more votes than the other large states because of its bigger population, the proposal would increase the number of German members of the European Parliament from a proposed 94 to 99. The biggest states -- Germany, France, Britain and Italy -- would all have 30 votes in the EU's policy-making Council of Ministers. Only candidate Lithuania saw its proposed vote cut from six to five.