New alliances are forming at the EU summit in Brussels as the enlarged European Union haggles over its constitution and who should be the next Commission president. Anthony Browne, The Times’s Brussels Correspondent, left, reports.
What are the new alliances?
Speaking very broadly, the ten new accession countries that joined the EU on May 1 have a similar vision of the European Union as Britain does. Like Britain, they envisage a loose affiliation of states, rather than the increasingly close ties offered by the federalist vision championed by France and Germany.
This is the first EU summit where enlargement is working for Britain, which is combining with some of the accession countries on a range of different issues. For example, in the constitution talks, most of the accession countries agree with Britain that the right of veto on tax matters should be kept.
Advertisement
Another fracture point is Iraq. Guy Verhofstadt, the federalist Belgian Prime Minister who was among the candidates for the Commission presidency, was an active critic of the Iraq invasion.
Italy, was among the countries that opposed his nomination because of his views on the war, despite sharing M Verhofstadt’s federalist view of Europe. Portugal also opposed him for the same reasons, as did some of the eastern European countries that supported the US-led war.
Spain supported M Verhofstadt’s nomination, but would have opposed him if the Government of Jose Maria Aznar had not lost the general election in March, which ushered in the Socialist Party on an anti-war ticket.
Who are France and Germany courting?
France and Germany have made a strong alliance with the new socialist Government in Spain, led by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. They have also been courting Belgium and Luxembourg.
Advertisement
The Netherlands has also come on board with the French and Germans on some issues, but not all given its involvement in the Iraq war.
Germany has also had some success winning the support of Hungary, one of the accession countries.
How well are the accession countries doing in these talks?
The ten countries, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, have been involved in the negotiations over the constitution since they began two years ago. So the way in which things are done here is no shock to them.
This is however, the first opportunity they have had to play a part in selecting the new Commission president. And they appear to be happy to make themselves heard, no doubt because they are emboldened by the alliance they have struck on many issues with one large EU country, namely Britain.
Advertisement
Who is emerging as a candidate for the Commission presidency?
The increasingly fractious talks over who would become the next president of the European Commission ran late into last night and were not beginning again until this evening. Also, the talks are less than transparent, with a lot of cloak-and-dagger work going on behind the scenes.
That said, it is easier at the moment to say who will not be Romano Prodi’s successor. M Verhofstadt, who is supported by France, Germany and Spain, has had his nomination effectively blocked by Britain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia and Poland.
France is keen to continue pushing for their man, but the lack of consensus would appear to rule him out. This is because the opposition of a larger country, such as Britain, could make the president’s task very difficult over their five-year term, even though the vote itself no longer needs to be unanimous.
Chris Patten, the Commissioner for External Affairs and the last Governor of Hong Kong, has emerged as Britain’s unofficial candidate. Yet he has no chance, because it would be too much of a defeat for France to see their candidate blocked by Britain in favour of the British-sponsored candidate.
Advertisement
Bertie Ahern, the Irish President whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said late last night that the shortlist of candidates had been reduced from nine to four, all of whom were from the centre-right. This would also appear to rule out Antonio Vitorinio, the socialist Portuguese Commissioner.
France is also pushing for Michel Barniea, the French Foreign Minister, as an alternative to Mr Verhofstadt, while the Prime Minister of Portugal, Jose Manual Barroso, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate. And there is a late-runner: Peter Sutherland, the former director-general of the World Trade Organisation.
How are the constitution talks progressing?
Compared to the backroom dealing over the Commission presidency, the talks on the constitution are relatively straightforward. A deal on the constitution is thought likely, while a deal on the presidency is not.
But the general mood is very bad-tempered. France and Germany have been accused of bullying, while France has accused Malta of cowardice for abstaining on the presidency vote.