EU ministers upbeat on treaty deal

LUXEMBOURG - European Union foreign ministers voiced confidence on Monday that a summit this week will clinch a deal on a long-awaited treaty to reform EU institutions despite remaining snags involving Poland and Italy.

The treaty is designed to give the enlarged, 27-nation bloc stronger leadership, a more effective foreign policy and more democratic decision-making, replacing the EU constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

"There is no reason at all why we should not be confident that at the end of this week we will have an agreement," Manuel Lobo Antunes, secretary of state for European affairs of EU president Portugal, told a news conference after ministers discussed the final draft.

Since EU leaders struck a deal on a detailed political mandate in June, lawyers, linguists and diplomats have been working in the shadows to turn it into a treaty text.

That work is now complete and only a handful of minor issues remain involving Poland, Italy and Bulgaria. None is considered serious enough to prevent EU leaders finalising the treaty in Lisbon on Friday, or signing in December.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "I am also confident that we'll get agreement during this week."

Like the defunct constitution, the treaty provides for a long-term president of the EU from 2009, a more powerful foreign policy chief, a simpler, more democratic decision-making system and more power for the European and national parliaments.

Given continent-wide fatigue after a decade of wrangling over European institutions, the desire to reach the finishing line and avoid new ratification problems is widespread.

Only Ireland is bound to hold a referendum, although there is strong pressure from Eurosceptics on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to call a vote, which he would likely lose. Barring such an accident, the treaty would take effect in 2009.


REARGUARD BATTLE

Poland fought a successful rearguard battle to delay the new population-based voting system until 2017 and on Monday pushed to incorporate in the treaty a provision allowing states without a blocking minority to delay EU decisions for several months.

"I am very optimistic. There is just a small step towards an agreement," Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga told reporters.

Other states want the so-called Ioannina Compromise confined to a less binding, perhaps time-limited political declaration.

But Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn suggested Poland's demand could be met.

"One possibility would be to put Ioannina in a protocol, which could be changed without having to take apart the whole treaty," he said.

Italy reiterated its anger at losing parity with France and Britain in the redistribution of European Parliament seats and wants that issue separated from the treaty and negotiated at a later date. The EU assembly proposed the reallocation to take account of population changes, with Spain the biggest gainer.

"I don't have a final ideal. I cannot anticipate what the solution will be," Antunes said of Italy's demands.

New member Bulgaria raised the stakes at the last minute by demanding that the European single currency be written as "evro" in its Cyrillic alphabet, as it was in its accession treaty. The European Central Bank opposes alternative spellings of the euro.

Sofia dropped a threat to block the signing of an accord on closer ties between the EU and Montenegro on Monday after EU ambassadors issued a declaration recognising a "linguistic-technical problem" and promising to solve it soon.

Austria reiterated its demand to formulate the treaty in such a way that it does not prevent it from limiting the number of foreign students at its universities. The country has faces flood of mostly German students at Vienna universities.

Britain said it was satisfied with various opt-outs it had negotiated from the treaty's provisions on social and home affairs issues. "People will see that the British national interest has been very clearly defended," said Foreign Minister David Milliband.