28/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - At an informal discussion on the calculation of qualified majority voting as laid down in the Treaty of Nice, which will enter into force on 1 November (criterion of 62% of the population: see EUROPE of 24 September, p.7), Italy raised the issue of calculating this percentage not on the basis of the number or residents, but on the citizenship criterion. However, this would reduce the German population by over 7 million people, said the Financial Times, which revealed the issue on Monday. According to Tuesday's La Repubblica, Coreper must this week approve the Dutch Presidency's proposal to calculate the Council majority on the basis of the number of residents, but will, at the same time, launch a reflection on the solution to be retained thereafter, once the European Constitution has been ratified.