Hoje: Anda à Roda!
EU's leaders begin crunch summit
THE SUMMIT'S BIG ISSUES
Voting powers
Number of commissioners
Christian values
National vetoes on foreign, defence and taxation policy
EU's military role and obligations of neutral nations
Extent of European Parliament's influence on EU budget
Poland is one of 10 states due to swell the EU next year
European Union leaders have begun a crucial summit in Brussels on the organisation's new constitution, with the issue of voting rights to the fore.
Heads of state and government must reconcile the constitution with accords reached at a summit in 2000.
Spain and Poland have been resisting the loss of substantial voting powers promised them at the Nice meeting.
But the summit began with a major investment deal for the EU as it prepares to gain 10 new members in May.
Europe needs to speak with one voice and act as one man... instead, we once again see that there are those who want Europe to remain divided and weak
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, warned that the summit could fall on the voting issue alone.
"The voting system is the obstacle that can block the whole agreement and that is a pity," he said, welcoming the leaders of the 25 states.
Romano Prodi, head of the European Commission, rated the summit's chances of success at "66%".
Outside the summit, ordinary Europeans appear to have little idea of the complex issues at the Brussels talks.
In Paris, people interviewed by the BBC's World Today programme either said they had "no idea" or hoped it would be a "constitution like the French one with liberty, fraternity and peace in the world".
An interviewee in Vienna said he had "heard a lot, of course, but nothing special".
In Britain, concerns over creeping constitutional powers coming out of Brussels has turned into outright hostility to the EU, the BBC's Mike Sanders reports, and only one in four Britons now supports the organisation in opinion polls.
Veto threat
The BBC's Tim Franks, in Brussels, says that in the best tradition of market hagglers, leaders are warning that they are prepared to walk away rather than buy the constitution on offer.
VOTING RIGHTS OPTIONS
Nice agreement: middling-sized states like Spain and Poland get voting powers comparable to a giant like Germany
New constitution: all EU decisions require support of a majority of member states representing at least 60% of the EU's population
Voting row explained
The constitution's details
The EU's institutions
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, for one, said he had "red lines" on issues such as the right to veto EU decisions.
However the main bone of contention is a promise won by Poland and Spain during the exhausting negotiations in Nice which gives them 27 votes each on the EU's executive body, the Council of Ministers.
This compares with 29 for Germany, which has twice the population of each of the two countries.
The new constitution, drafted over 17 months by a special convention, tries to redress the balance by introducing a "double majority" system of voting - seen to favour big states like Britain, France and Germany.
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski has threatened to veto the new constitution if his country's votes are reduced.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who met him in Berlin, remarked that: "One cannot become a member of the European Union and want to start this membership with a veto."
Investment deal
Mr Blair is expected to insist on retaining the national veto in key policy areas such as taxation, legal systems, social security provisions and budgets.
National vetoes on foreign, defence and taxation policy
EU's military role and obligations of neutral nations
Extent of European Parliament's influence on EU budget
Another contentious issue raised by Poland is the lack of any mention in the constitution of Europe's specifically Christian heritage and values.
However, the EU leaders began their talks by announcing an agreement on a 62 billion-euro "quick start" plan to encourage public and private investment in transport and research.
Projects covered range from Alpine rail tunnels to laser technology research.
"This is the first economic policy action in the history of the EU," said Silvio Berlusconi.
On a number of other issues, the chances of agreement also seem good:
The 19 smaller nations look likely to get representatives in the European Commission after all
Agreement is expected on plans to give the EU a more substantial military role after guarantees were given that a new defence arrangement would not undermine NATO.
THE SUMMIT'S BIG ISSUES
Voting powers
Number of commissioners
Christian values
National vetoes on foreign, defence and taxation policy
EU's military role and obligations of neutral nations
Extent of European Parliament's influence on EU budget
Poland is one of 10 states due to swell the EU next year
European Union leaders have begun a crucial summit in Brussels on the organisation's new constitution, with the issue of voting rights to the fore.
Heads of state and government must reconcile the constitution with accords reached at a summit in 2000.
Spain and Poland have been resisting the loss of substantial voting powers promised them at the Nice meeting.
But the summit began with a major investment deal for the EU as it prepares to gain 10 new members in May.
Europe needs to speak with one voice and act as one man... instead, we once again see that there are those who want Europe to remain divided and weak
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, warned that the summit could fall on the voting issue alone.
"The voting system is the obstacle that can block the whole agreement and that is a pity," he said, welcoming the leaders of the 25 states.
Romano Prodi, head of the European Commission, rated the summit's chances of success at "66%".
Outside the summit, ordinary Europeans appear to have little idea of the complex issues at the Brussels talks.
In Paris, people interviewed by the BBC's World Today programme either said they had "no idea" or hoped it would be a "constitution like the French one with liberty, fraternity and peace in the world".
An interviewee in Vienna said he had "heard a lot, of course, but nothing special".
In Britain, concerns over creeping constitutional powers coming out of Brussels has turned into outright hostility to the EU, the BBC's Mike Sanders reports, and only one in four Britons now supports the organisation in opinion polls.
Veto threat
The BBC's Tim Franks, in Brussels, says that in the best tradition of market hagglers, leaders are warning that they are prepared to walk away rather than buy the constitution on offer.
VOTING RIGHTS OPTIONS
Nice agreement: middling-sized states like Spain and Poland get voting powers comparable to a giant like Germany
New constitution: all EU decisions require support of a majority of member states representing at least 60% of the EU's population
Voting row explained
The constitution's details
The EU's institutions
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, for one, said he had "red lines" on issues such as the right to veto EU decisions.
However the main bone of contention is a promise won by Poland and Spain during the exhausting negotiations in Nice which gives them 27 votes each on the EU's executive body, the Council of Ministers.
This compares with 29 for Germany, which has twice the population of each of the two countries.
The new constitution, drafted over 17 months by a special convention, tries to redress the balance by introducing a "double majority" system of voting - seen to favour big states like Britain, France and Germany.
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski has threatened to veto the new constitution if his country's votes are reduced.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who met him in Berlin, remarked that: "One cannot become a member of the European Union and want to start this membership with a veto."
Investment deal
Mr Blair is expected to insist on retaining the national veto in key policy areas such as taxation, legal systems, social security provisions and budgets.
National vetoes on foreign, defence and taxation policy
EU's military role and obligations of neutral nations
Extent of European Parliament's influence on EU budget
Another contentious issue raised by Poland is the lack of any mention in the constitution of Europe's specifically Christian heritage and values.
However, the EU leaders began their talks by announcing an agreement on a 62 billion-euro "quick start" plan to encourage public and private investment in transport and research.
Projects covered range from Alpine rail tunnels to laser technology research.
"This is the first economic policy action in the history of the EU," said Silvio Berlusconi.
On a number of other issues, the chances of agreement also seem good:
The 19 smaller nations look likely to get representatives in the European Commission after all
Agreement is expected on plans to give the EU a more substantial military role after guarantees were given that a new defence arrangement would not undermine NATO.
publicado por MP às 13:31
