Verharding van standpunten lidstaten in IGC (en) - Hoofdinhoud

EUOBSERVER / LUXEMBOURG - At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg yesterday, bargaining positions on controversial institutional questions in the draft Constitution were hardened still further.

As ever, the make-up of the Commission in a future EU caused the most headaches. Despite having filled out questionnaires outlining their positions, at the behest of the Italian President, the 25 member states were no closer to reaching a solution.

During a tour-de-table, the same formula as in other meetings was repeated. The six founding EU members - France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux - said they supported the set-up proposed in the new Constitution: that of 15 core Commissioners with voting rights.

However, the vast majority of countries supported changing the draft to include one Commissioner per member state - and all with full voting rights. Smaller countries fear a two-tier Commission that will mainly benefit larger countries.

On the issue of the new Foreign Minister, there was less controversy. The majority of EU member states, old and new, support the idea of creating a post combining the jobs of the external relations Commissioner and the EU High Representative.

However, several countries - among them, the UK and Poland - did argue that they would rather see a "representative" than a minister, as this sounds too much like a government post.

According to FT Deutschland, the German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer said that he expected heavy negotiation towards the last phases of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC).

Debate pushed to the end of the week

The debate has now been pushed to the end of the week when EU heads of state and government meet in Brussels (16-17 October).

The failed meeting put into question the Italian Presidency's ambitious timetable of wrapping up negotiations by the end of this year.

Most countries are continuing to play their bargaining cards very close to their chests. It is expected that at the eleventh hour a final package trade-off is likely to be agreed - if not, the whole IGC risks running on into the Irish Presidency beginning 1 January.