Brussels, 18/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Friday evening, the Intergovernmental Conference was finalising an agreement on the Constitutional Treaty which was started over two years ago, having brought a range of modification to the draft created by the European Convention.
The meeting kicked off on Thursday afternoon in a confident atmosphere, which was boosted on Friday afternoon by the announcement of an agreement by several countries, including France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, on the last institutional compromise presented by the Presidency. However, 13 smaller countries (Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia) poured cold water on it by refusing to accept the proposed thresholds for qualified majority. They wanted a formula corresponding to 58% (instead of 55%) of States representing 65% of the population. Portugal, however, quickly changed its mind and the other countries also gradually capitulated, in a series of bilateral consultations with the Presidency.
The final changes
The text approved by the Intergovernmental Conference incorporates the final institutional changes on the structure of qualified majority voting, the composition of the European Parliament and the Commission, and various provisions on economic policy and the euro zone, which we already detailed in yesterday's bulletin.
- Qualified majority: the system which the Heads of State and Government decided upon is highly complex: 1) qualified majority is 55% of Member States representing 65% of the population of the Union; 2) however, qualified majority can also be attained if the negative votes come from fewer than four Member States; 3) abstentions are not taken into account in calculations (in other words, if a State abstains, a minimum of four States is still required to block a decision, but the majority is only 55% of the remaining States and 65% of the population thereof; 4) by derogation to the previous, qualified majority is of 72% of States still representing 65% of the population (which gives the small countries extra weight, whenever the proposal has not come from the Commission or the EU Foreign Minister (mainly Member States' initiatives in the field of JHA, Council initiatives in the field of CFSP, acts concluded in the context of economic and monetary policy on Commission or ECB recommendation, proposals from the European Parliament, suspension or withdrawal of a Member State and various appointments); (5) this system will not apply until 1 November 2009; (6) from this date on and until 2014, a Council decision will establish a system modelled on the Ioaninna compromise: if Council members representing at least 30% of the Unon population or at least 40% of the Member States are opposed to adoption of an act (without meeting the conditions required for the act to be rejected), the Council will continue with its discussions, during a "reasonable length of time" without questioning the time limits imposed by Community law, with a view to answering the concerns raised by these States.
The texts concerning the non-institutional aspects (see also EUROPE of 18 June, p.4) only received cosmetic touches here and there. The addition of a declaration by Spain and the United Kingdom should be noted, pointing out that the constitutional treaty applies to Gibraltar without having an impact on the respective positions of the Member States concerned.
On Sunday 20 June, Agence Europe will publish a special edition on the European Council, and the Intergovernmental Conference on the European Constitution, held in Brussels on 17 and 18 June.