Franco-German alliance steadfast on EU voting
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac stood firm yesterday on their commitment to a new set of voting rights for the EU constitution.
Speaking after talks outside of Berlin, the two leaders stressed they would not back down on the issue.
Dispute lingering problems with voting rights, the EU leaders said they remained confident of creating the new EU constitution.
Schroeder told reporters: “The constitutional process must be successful. But not at any price.”
The EU summit in Brussels last December collapsed after Poland and Spain refused to give up some of their voting rights.
Poland and Spain rejected plans to change “weighted voting” rules established in 2000 that granted them 27 votes. France and Germany, with 29 votes each, say the allocation is disproportionate given their greater population size.
Yesterday, Mr Schroeder also met Irish President Bertie Ahern to argue the Franco-German corner.
Ireland holds the EU’s rotating presidency until June 30.
After the meeting, Mr Schroeder said: “I do feel a degree of doubt whether it will be possible to get the constitutional package signed and sealed in this presidency.”
Mr Ahern said: “What we have to try to do is to try and get a compromise” but not “just for the sake of it.
“The whole concept of the constitution is that after enlargement we want a workable Europe where we can make decisions in a prompt, speedy, efficient and effective way.”
Mr Chirac and Mr Schroeder meet with Tony Blair on February 18th in Berlin for tripartite discussions on the preparations for the next EU summit in Brussels in late March.
Ahead of the next meeting, Mr Schroeder will host Mr Blair on Thursday.
