Brussels, 12/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - Polish political officials have rekindled the polemic over the matter of who was responsible for the failure of the IGC Summit in December, and criticise the German attitude (see above). "No-one is surprised when the German Chancellor tries to gain advantageous conditions for Germany, or when the French President defends the interests of France", Prime Minster Leszek Miller commented on Saturday during a televised speech. So one should not be surprised to see the Polish leaders determined in their fight to bring about better conditions for Poland in the EU, he warned. President Aleksander Kwasniewski said in an interview with Der Spiegel that the impasse at the IGC could have been avoided if there had been "more confidence" between Poland and Germany. In order to find a solution, one could attribute more votes to Germany in Council, he said, while fearing that this could cause problems for the French and the British. On the subject of a two-speed Europe, President Kwasniewski sees this as a risk of comprising the "very existence of European integration".
In an interview with Deutschlandfunk, on Sunday, Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen remarked that one of the "factors that led to the crisis" - Poland's internal political situation which makes it practically impossible for the government to move on the substance of this issue (double majority in Council) - remains unchanged. "We need this Constitution, not just because of the controversial point" (vote weighting in Council), he said. He noted that "what is nearly the most important thing for me in the whole of the draft Constitution is the progress made on foreign and security policy". On the subject of a two-speed Europe, he repeated that, in his view, the best road is progress common to all even though this could take more time. Mr Verheugen said he would still prefer slower progress by all to rapid progress by just a few. He felt that, if there is blocking, then it would be necessary to examine whether, within the system, they can find a "centre of gravity". He stressed: "centre of gravity means precisely that those who are not there from the beginning should be attracted afterwards".