EU Nations Stake out Turf ahead of Constitutional Conference

Not all of the EU members are avid supporters of the draft constitution. Poland attacked a draft version of the European Union constitution on Monday, only days ahead of a key conference supposed to hammer out the remaining differences on the document. On Saturday, an EU intergovernmental conference (IGC) is set to begin in Rome. Although many EU members have urged approving the constitutional draft largely as it is, several countries appear to be preparing to fight for changes they deem essential. The coming battle will for the most part pit the EU’s largest members against the smaller nations, which fear loosing influence in Brussels. But mid-sized countries like Poland and Spain are also talking particularly tough ahead of the IGC. At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Poland – which joins the EU next May – circulated a position paper spelling out Warsaw’s numerous objections to the draft text. One of Poland’s key demands is the retention of the “qualified majority” voting system that was negotiated in Nice in 2000. The awkward system gives Poland – and similarly sized Spain – a weight far greater than relative to its population of nearly 40 million. Italy, current holder of the EU presidency, hopes to have the IGC negotiations wrapped up by December. But not boding particularly well for the upcoming talks, Spain’s motto for negotiating is apparently “Nice or Death.”