EU unveils new reform treaty draft ahead of key summit
BRUSSELS (AFP) — The European Union unveiled Friday its new draft treaty of sorely-needed reforms to replace the failed constitution but major political hurdles must be overcome before the text can be adopted.
The draft "Reform Treaty" drawn up by legal experts, which streamlines decision-making in the expanding 27-nation bloc, was made public by the Portuguese presidency two weeks before EU leaders are due to rubber stamp it.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said it would give the EU the "capacity to act in the interest of its citizens through more coherence externally, more efficient decision-making and more democratic accountability".
The document, drafted to accommodate demands made by nations at a June EU summit, is difficult to read and runs to more than 250 pages with appended declarations and protocols.
It contains many positive elements of the constitution, which was torpedoed by voters in France and the Netherlands in referendums two years ago sparking the bloc's worst-ever crisis.
However it amends parts of the other EU treaties and does not replace them, as the constitution would have done. Many of the symbolic trappings -- references to a European flag and anthem -- have also been dropped.
The text begins: "The Treaty on European Union shall be amended in accordance with the provisions of this Article."
The text does not address tricky political concerns, like Poland's demand to change the way votes are shared among EU countries, or Italy's complaints about losing seats in the next parliament.
With Poland in an election campaign, that issue could be one to resurface and plague the summit in Lisbon on October 18-19, and officials in Brussels say EU foreign ministers will have to iron out any problems in the days prior.
"We'll see what the room temperature's like on the 15th as far as the problems that are left are concerned," one EU official said, referring to an October 15 meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
"The talks in Luxembourg will be a tough last lap," he said.
On Thursday Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado said he was "optimistic and confident" the treaty would be adopted in Lisbon.
"Right up until the final moment, every government, every state, will have questions. We must do our utmost, but the presidency must not impose anything by force," he said.
One country that had plenty of issues is happy with the outcome: Britain.
The final legal work concentrated on an opt-out promised to Britain on police and judicial cooperation, which London wants to be as broad and flexible as possible and not cross any of its "red lines".
"We are pleased with the package," a government spokesman said. "It delivers our red lines on justice and home affairs. We will now read the treaty carefully to check that it contains all of our red lines in full."
But other hurdles still stand in the EU's way, even if the text -- which establishes a new foreign policy supremo and a more permanent president -- does past the test in two weeks.
Of the 27 EU nations, only Ireland is constitutionally bound to hold a potentially perilous referendum, but others have warned they want to see the final text before deciding how to ratify it.
EU leaders want the treaty to enter force on January 1, 2009 so that public confidence in the European project is not undermined by the problem during elections to the European Parliament that year.
