Posted on 06/11/2007 1:03:24 PM PDT by Lukasz
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Europe will slip into a political crisis if Poland blocks an agreement at next week's European Union summit on how to proceed with the failed EU Constitution, the head of the European Parliament warned Monday.
Poland is threatening to veto a deal on the future of the charter, refusing to accept changes to the voting system envisaged under the draft treaty that was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005 referendums.
«Poland will put Europe into a crisis with this veto,» European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering said. .«No small or middle-sized country should impose its will on another country.
«Poland would harm itself the most if it uses this veto ... Poland needs solidarity too, after all,» he said. Poland argues the new qualified majority rules designed to reduce the individual countries' bargaining power favor big countries such as Germany. The system calls for a double majority representing at least 55 percent of the EU member states and at least 65 percent of the EU population.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency until the end of June, is pushing leaders to agree on which parts of the blueprint can be salvaged and which need to be amended or dropped, with a view to adopting the revised charter in 2009.
Poland calls for a different voting system, based on the basis of a mathematical calculation of a number of inhabitants in relation to the country's surface area. Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has said it was «worth dying for» the so-called «square root system. Poland's veto threat is «very regrettable, not just in terms of the possible outcome but in terms of the threat itself,» Poettering said.
Poland stands to gain massive benefit from EU subsidies in the next six years, with billions of euros (dollars) to flow into the new member states.
The draft EU treaty aims to streamline EU decision-making, enhance the bloc's international role and prepare it to accept more member states. Eighteen countries have ratified it.
Poettering said the Poles were isolated in their efforts to have the voting system changed, with perhaps only the Czechs on their side.
Britain and the Netherlands are the other two countries with major reservations to the draft. Britain is concerned about losing veto power over areas such as justice and home affairs, and together with the Dutch and the Czechs back a scaled-down charter with no constitutional elements. France is pushing for a 'simplified treaty that could be put to the French parliament for approval.
Kaczynski complained Monday that he would get background documents for the June 21-22 summit from the German presidency only on June 19, which he said was too late. He said he did not favor «dealing in just a few days with issues that are key to Europe's future.
Only Germany is big enough to act in a similar manner!
Good for Poland. Hang tough, guys.
Bah. The EU Constitution has already failed, and will fail again...the Eurocrats are just setting up Poland to be the sucker/scapegoat for the inevitable.
Anyway, (opinion) the EU could become more difficult to run in its current state. One of the earlier treaties (Maastricht?) had a maximum of 27 countries in the EU. As of today, there are 27 countries in the EU. With each state having veto power on a lot of issues, and now with so many members, the probability of passing new rules--some which could be helpful--decreases. The European Union could use some 'streamlining' to the way it functions.
P.S. Not exactly neutral on this, somewhat a proponent of a United States of Europe. (Still of the opinion that the USA will be stronger than the USE, especially if Canada and Mexico become part of the country).
Being such spoil sports they keep referring back to that whole Blietzkrieg-Defensive Alliance-Phony War deal of 1939.
Apparently Merkel, Blair, and Sarkozy made some kind of backroom deal to incrementally change the rules without bothering with a constitution or national referendums.
Poland stands to gain financially, but at the cost of having to agree to the Euroswine bureaucrat rules, which would include such things as legalized abortion and the right to hold Gay Pride Parades.
Not to worry, apparently we are backing into a North American Union on the same basis, without any discussion or votes.
Spot on. The question is only why Poland allowed to be manipulated like this by EU. Poking EU python with one hand and poking Russian bear with another is not very wise life insurance policy.
Unfortunately volcanic goat cheese was not among those things and the French let it disappear into the memory hole imposed by some cheese trade czar in Brussels.
I support the EU mainly as a free trade and travel zone. I oppose them to being involved on ”a lot of issues”. United States of Europe or rather UESR? This project is sustained by unbelievable hypocrisy , the best example is Poettering’s speech.
To which side Poland should surrender in your opinion?
Let’s hope Poland sticks to its guns. The last thing we want is a stronger EU.
Why don’t they try our solution; two houses, one by population and one by State, and a majority in both houses to pass a law.
Notice the Czecks are on Polands side. They have long memories concerning Chamberlain .
They want to control everything, that is why EU constitution project is so thick.
My grandfather and great grandfather had some personal experience with Germany wanting to control Europe. Their arrogance is usually their downfall.
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