EU:In Madrid ministers made the case for retaining the guts of the EU constitution, writes Jamie Smyth
EU diplomats dusted the cobwebs off their copies of the EU constitution this week as an 18-month period of reflection finally came to an end.
In Madrid supporters of the treaty, which seeks to streamline decision-making in the EU, yesterday fired the first salvo in a battle to shape the future of the European project that will stretch until 2009 at least. Ministers from the 18 EU states that have ratified the treaty, plus its self-professed cheerleaders - Ireland and Portugal - pressed the case for retaining the guts of the constitution.
"The constitution is not a perfect text but it is the best instrument available to us," said Spanish foreign minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos, who criticised proposals to "carve up" the treaty at the meeting.
But the absence of ministers from Britain, France, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic indicated the difficulties in finding a compromise on a new treaty to satisfy all 27 EU states. Even Germany - the current holder of the six-month rotating EU presidency - did not send a minister to Madrid, and German diplomats warned privately that the meeting risked entrenching EU divisions further.
The No vote in referendums in France and the Netherlands in 2005 makes it politically difficult for politicians in both states to accept a new treaty that is simply renamed and repackaged. And, candidates for the upcoming presidential election in France in May are already making promises that may complicate the task of renegotiating the treaty.
Last week French presidential hopeful Ségolène Royal said she wanted a social charter added to the treaty, which could spook economic liberals among the new member states and Britain. She also announced plans to hold a second referendum in 2009 on a newly agreed text - a proposal that could have other states following suit.
Her opponent, Nicolas Sarkozy, advocates a "mini treaty", which would retain key parts of the original: an elected president of the European Commission, an EU foreign minister and abolition of the unanimous vote at the Council of Ministers. Thus, by shaving off large sections of the treaty, a referendum would not be required, says Sarkozy.
British diplomats also favour a slimmer treaty that could be ratified by parliament, knowing that a Eurosceptic public is unlikely to pass any European referendum.
Likewise in the Netherlands, getting a new treaty passed could be a problem. Dutch foreign minister Bernard Bots has declared the constitution dead and last week an opinion poll showed 60 per cent of Dutch voters still opposed to it. The poll also showed that 47 per cent of Dutch people are positive about the idea of some kind of EU constitution in the future. Even so, Dutch sources insist there will have to be major surgery to the text, particularly the removal of the trappings of statehood formalised in the treaty, such as an EU flag, motto and anthem.
It falls first to German chancellor Angela Merkel to find a solution. This week her officials started the process by holding meetings with the constitutional "sherpas"- officials appointed by each member state to liaise with the presidency on the draft treaty.
Ireland's sherpas, top civil servants Dan Mulhall and Eoin O'Leary were the first to share their views with Berlin on what elements must be retained in any new treaty and what parts the Government does not consider vital to national interest. Officials from all the other states will meet over the next few weeks to present their own wish list.
Merkel plans to keep the talks confidential and restricted to governments. She argues that such sensitive talks can't succeed in the full glare of publicity. But her task won't be easy as MEPs seek a role in deciding the shape of a treaty, and critics warn that any secret deal struck in "smoke-filled rooms" will not attract enough public support.
Nevertheless, she plans to divert attention from the treaty over the next few weeks by focusing member states on agreeing a declaration on March 25th to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the EU's birthday.
Merkel hopes the declaration will provide momentum to the constitutional talks, which will begin in earnest after the French presidential election. But, with deep divisions on the best way forward already bubbling to the surface, even the most optimistic Europeans predict a long hard year ahead for negotiators.