Warsaw and Berlin are still at odds concerning the key issue of the future constitution of the European Union-the distribution of votes

Warsaw and Berlin are still at odds concerning the key issue of the future constitution of the European Union-the distribution of votes. The heads of both governments met Sept. 22 in Gelsenkirchen at the 6th Polish-German inter-governmental consultations. Prime Minister Leszek Miller and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder did not reach any compromise in their positions concerning the eventual distribution of votes in the EU, which will be entered in the future Constitution Treaty. "When it comes to the voting system, we are still not as close to agreement with each other as is necessary," Schröder said. "I would like to clearly state that Germany has nearly no room to maneuver here, but we need to keep talking." The current draft of the Constitution Treaty compiled by the European Convention proposes changes in the principles adopted at the summit in Nice in 2000. The changes are disadvantageous to Poland. The Nice system gives Poland 27 votes, a power similar to that of, for example, Germany, which has 29 votes. In the new voting system proposed in the draft, decisions would be made by a simple majority of the number of countries, but the majority would have to represent no less than 60 percent of the EU's population. With this method, Poland's voice would become weaker by a half. Germany advocates the new system of making decisions and adopting the draft of the Constitution Treaty without amendments. Schröder pointed to the fact that back in Nice, Germany's opinion had been that the principle of double majority made sense and was very democratic. Miller said further negotiations were necessary and the best time for them would be the inter-governmental conference of EU member and candidate countries, which will begin Oct. 4 in Rome.