European Union leaders clinched agreement today on a mandate to overhaul the 27-nation bloc after persuading Poland to end a stand-off that nearly torpedoed a marathon summit.
The leaders agreed to negotiate a reform treaty by the end of this year, to be ratified by mid-2009, replacing the EU constitution rejected in 2005 by French and Dutch voters.
The 4:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) deal could relaunch the political integration of Europe after two years of gloom and introspection since referendums sank the constitution, dramatising public disaffection with a project seen as remote and bureaucratic.
Provided it is ratified this time, the treaty should give Europe stronger leadership, a streamlined decision-making process, a bigger voice on the world stage and more say for the European and national parliaments.
"If we had not achieved this today, we would have ended up in a rather disastrous situation because many would have felt they were pushed too far," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference after brokering the deal.
The deal opened the way for further enlargement of the Union, she said, which would be impossible without reformed institutions. Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, who takes over the EU chair in July, said he hoped to have the treaty agreed as early as October.
Leaders of several countries convinced Polish President Lech Kaczynski to back down after weeks of resistance and accept a compromise on voting rights in exchange for a long delay in their introduction.
"After today, Poland is capable of much better cooperation with France, Britain and also Germany, because we experienced solidarity," Kaczynski told reporters.
But he was unapologetic over comments that Poland deserved compensation for its suffering in World War Two. This offended many European leaders and privately infuriated Merkel.
"History is history. It is fact that had there not been the war, Poland would not have 38 million people, but many more," Kaczynski said.
Merkel struggled to break Polish opposition to the treaty which it complained would cut Warsaw's voting power and give more say to big countries, especially Germany.
She eventually threatened to launch treaty negotiations without Warsaw's assent, prompting a final dash for compromise.