Jun 22, 2007, 13:04 GMT
Brussels - European Union leaders Friday continued make-or- break negotiations on a new treaty as Poland and Britain dug in their heels over key provisions for reforming the 27-nation bloc.
Inside view of the main press room during the European Union (EU) summit at the European council building in Brussels, Belgium, 22 June 2007. Britain and Poland remained entrenched in their positions against a new treaty aimed at replacing the failed European constitution, and key EU leaders said progress was yet to be reached today on demands put forward by the two countries. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
As talks entered a decisive phase, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is chairing the summit, reported back to all EU leaders on her one-on-one bilateral discussions in the morning.
Diplomats said a breakthrough was not yet in sight, with Polish President Lech Kaczynski and outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair still giving no sign they were ready to help break the deadlock.
British officials told reporters negotiations remained very tough while Polish diplomats insisted it was too early to predict the outcome of the summit.
The meeting is scheduled to end later Friday but Merkel is expected to extend discussions into Saturday in her search for a so- far elusive deal.
In proposals which many see as unacceptable, Kaczynski suggested on Friday that the current system for distributing decision-making votes in the bloc agreed in 2000 should be extended until 2020.
Under the deal, Poland with 27 votes is almost on a par with big EU states Germany, Britain, Italy and France, which have been accorded 29 votes each.
The Polish president has said this system would be better than the revamped 'double majority' mechanism for taking decisions which other EU governments want to introduce in the new treaty.
Warsaw's opposition to the 'double majority' scheme which requires that EU decisions have the support of 55 per cent of member states, representing 65 per cent of the population has emerged as one of the key stumbling blocks in efforts to strike a treaty deal.
Kaczynski came to the EU summit demanding a voting system based on the square root of each country's population, a move designed to give more say to medium-sized nations.
The Polish president said he was not optimistic of a summit breakthrough. 'Poland is not in the habit of withdrawing when it is in the right,' he said, adding: 'My duty is to talk until the end, and I will talk until the end.'
Meanwhile, officials said French President Nicolas Sarkozy had made a proposal allowing a small group of countries, with almost enough votes to block a decision they did not like, to demand another round of EU discussions on the issue.
However, Poland said the proposal did not go far enough in addressing Warsaw's concerns.
The focus is also on persuading Blair to lift his 'red lines' on issues like the appointment of a first-ever EU foreign minister and plans to make the charter for fundamental rights legally binding.
Britain is also demanding opt-outs in justice and police affairs as well as decisions on social security.
'It is a fact of life that we will not have a deal if our red lines are not respected,' a spokesman for Blair told reporters, adding: 'We are not playing games.'
If agreed the new 'reform' treaty will replace the draft constitution which was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, plunging the EU into an institutional crisis.
EU governments have said the bloc needs a new rulebook to streamline decision-making in an enlarged union and to increase Europe's standing on the global stage.
Separately, a British spokesman said Blair met Sarkozy to discuss plans to drop a key reference in the new treaty to the bloc's commitment to 'free and undistorted competition.'
The French leader has been pushing for an elimination of any mention of free competition in the EU text, arguing that the bloc must instead focus more on 'social' issues.
EU officials said that although competition may not be mentioned in the preamble, the treaty itself had up to 13 references to free competition within the bloc. Therefore the move would have no 'legal implication,' said one EU official.
However, a spokesman for Blair insisted on the need for 'clarity' on the issue.
The new treaty being discussed in Brussels also makes no reference to EU symbols such as a European flag, anthem and 'Europe Day' to avoid giving the impression leaders are working to create a European super state.
Merkel is hoping a deal in Brussels will allow a new EU treaty to be agreed under the Portuguese presidency by the end of the year.
After that, there are hopes the treaty will be ratified by all 27 EU states and enter into force ahead of elections to the European Parliament in summer 2009.
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