Poland: If Poland threw open next year's presidential elections to non-nationals, then Corkman Pat Cox should throw his hat into the ring.
The President of the European Parliament was feted like a beloved son during his weekend visit to Poland, something that speaks volumes about local attitudes towards the Irish and Warsaw's growing hope that the Irish presidency will come up with a winning formula to break the current deadlock.
There is widespread agreement in Polish political circles of the need to clinch a deal on vote-weighting. "The knowledge that we were perceived as belligerent in Brussels has permeated to foreign policy chiefs. People here now want to show that we can do more than just block decisions," said Mr Jacek Kucharczyk, of the Institute for Public Affairs in Warsaw.
However, Polish politicians believe that they were unfairly portrayed as the villains who brought down the summit, an attitude which will have to change before a compromise is possible.
"It is crucial that other EU countries recognise Poland's position - to retain Nice - as legitimate and not act as though it were an anti-EU position. The supporters of the constitution cannot continue behaving as if they are the only European thinkers," says Mr Janusz Reiter, a former Polish ambassador to Germany and now head of the Centre for International Relations in Warsaw.
The Prime Minister, Mr Leszek Mill, says that he took the right approach in December, despite the failure of the summit."The main reason for our position, apart from the assumption that the Nice system is better than any other, is because it reflects the equilibrium needed between smaller and larger states," says Prof Tadeusz Iwinski, secretary of state for international affairs in the prime minister's office. "If Mr Miller had signed that deal, it would never have been ratified in Poland."
The "Nice or Die" motto has become a double-edged sword for Mr Miller: though devised by the Polish opposition, it became the accepted shorthand for the government's hardline position in Brussels. At the same time, the motto makes it very difficult for the highly-unpopular administration to reach a deal which is not seen as a defeat at home.
"People will say 'The EU isn't able to keep its promises' while anti-EU groups will be able to say 'We told you so'," says Dr Robert Sobiech, a professor at the Institute of Applied Social Sciences in Warsaw University. "Everything depends on how a compromise is presented."
- Derek Scally
Spain: Because they suffered the pains of international isolation during 40 years of the Franco dictatorship, Spaniards were almost unanimous in supporting membership of the European Union. For the first time, they were able to join international clubs, like the European Union, which had blackballed them for so long, and as a new member they were prepared to obey the rules and made little trouble.
Europe has been good to Spain. When it joined in 1986, Spain was one of the poorest members, eligible to reap the benefits from generous subsidies. They have used the money well, investing in modern infrastructural programmes which are the envy of many of Spain's fellow Europeans, and the economy is now one of the strongest in the Union.
Although José María Aznar (above) is only 51 this month, he is in his final days as Spain's prime minister. When he won his first election in 1996 he vowed to serve only two four-year terms, and these come to an end after the general elections on March 14th.
But he is not leaving the international scene quietly. He began last year by antagonising millions of his fellow countrymen by supporting the Bush/Blair alliance over the Iraq invasion and he ended 2003 by infuriating his European partners when he apparently blocked an agreement on the new constitution at last December's European summit. At the time, Mr Aznar publicly held his tongue, saying that the failure was "the responsibility of all of us". But privately he put the blame fairly and squarely on the French government, and last week he said that France and Germany were to blame because of their "lack of political will to reach an agreement".
Spain has always had a strange love-hate relationship with its northern neighbour, France, so it was no surprise when Mr Aznar named France, nor when the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, said that Spain was at fault because the Spanish prime minister was acting to gain electoral capital for his party with his tough stance.
Mr Aznar refused to accept any responsibility and warned that he would not be so diplomatic next time and would name names. Speaking during the Taoiseach's visit to Madrid last week, Mr Aznar gave clear warning that he would not be easily persuaded to change his mind, saying: "The Spanish position has not changed since December. We will continue to be constructive, open and positive."
Perhaps Europe can breathe a sigh of relief that when the new constitution is discussed at the next European summit Mr Aznar will have left power and the decision on whether to accept it will rest with his successor - whichever party wins the elections. - Jane Walker
Germany: The Weimar Triangle is looking a little tattered these days. Germany and France formed the alliance with Poland back in 1991 to help their eastern neighbour into the EU. But few of the politicians from the three countries meeting in Berlin last week could ignore the sorry state of the alliance with just three months to accession.
"Things could be better, but I believe Germany has the greatest interest to sorting out our relations with Poland," said Dr Angelica Schwall-Düren, vice-chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). "We will make every effort, but not at any price."
Germany stands to gain the most from the weighted voting system proposed in the draft constitution. As the EU's most populous state, with more than 80 million citizens, Germany says it is time this is recognised in EU voting rules.
For Germany, it is unacceptable to retain the Nice voting rules, which give it 29 votes in the Council of Ministers, while Poland and Spain have a combined voting weight of 54, despite their smaller combined population.
However, politicians repeat, mantra-like, that Germany is not interested in simply increasing its own power but in increasing the decision-making ability of an EU of 25.
"What we need . . . is a voting system that is constructive and not blocking," said Mr Joschka Fischer, the German Foreign Minister, in Hungary on Monday. The double majority is not a matter of national prestige, he said, but democratic transparency.
Officials in Berlin feel that it would be better to resolve the row over vote-weighting now, before the already assertive Poland joins the EU.
Of the four countries at the heart of the vote-weighting dispute, Germany is seen as the country most willing to compromise.
Officials in Berlin have rejected the Polish suggestion to retain the Nice system and give Germany extra votes, but on Monday Mr Fischer hinted that there was "some possibility to adjust the different interests" within the voting system.
Berlin's position carries crucial domestic importance: as the biggest net contributor to the EU budget, the voting issue is central to maintaining the credibility of the EU among ordinary Germans.Chancellor Schröder (above) showed his determination not to be humiliated over the EU last month when he blocked plans to standardise MEPs' salaries, in effect a pay rise to German MEPs, after a politically-damaging campaign by the country's leading tabloid newspaper. - Derek Scally
France: The French attitude towards a European constitution was summed up by the Foreign Minister, Mr Dominique de Villepin, in a speech at Dublin City Hall on January 30th. France, he said, was the first to "deplore" the absence of agreement on a constitutional treaty in Brussels on December 13th, 2003.
"Nonetheless, one must not exaggerate the gravity of this failure. To attempt to obtain an agreement at any cost, to the detriment of the coherence and efficiency of the project, was not to be wished."
Mrde Villepin said it was up to Ireland to "give a new élan to this undertaking, in such a way that it be completed in a reasonable amount of time and in the right conditions, that is to say without the huge amount of work realised by the convention being distorted".
President Jacques Chirac (above) was one of the first to propose a European constitution, in a speech before the Bundestag in 2000. Mr Chirac would probably opt for ratification by parliament rather than risk a referendum, but he would still need to convince the French people that the constitutional treaty meant a more secure, influential and socially-conscious Europe.
Vote-weighting is the Gordian knot which Ireland must untie to reach agreement before the end of June.
Around the second week of January, the French sensed new dynamism in the Irish presidency. However, despite intense consultations, French officials say that the Irish are still assessing moods and methods. A new Inter-Governmental Conference will not get under way until the March 25th/26th summit. Until then, Paris expects no serious negotiating.
In the minds of French officials, it is a question of finding the right combination of incentives and pressure to bring Spain and Poland round; there can be no question of maintaining the Nice system, under which the two dissenters had nearly as many votes as Germany, France, Britain and Italy.
"We understand that it will be difficult for the Spanish and Polish governments to explain why they're accepting something they rejected for six months, but it's up to them to come up with compromise solutions," a French source said. French officials emphasise that the convention's draft treaty remains the only working document.
There is still disgruntlement in Paris over British resistance to the timid advances in qualified majority voting (QMV) included in the draft treaty. French officials stressed repeatedly that they wanted the double majority, a smaller Commission and more QMV because these institutional changes would enable Europe to function better. - Lara Marlowe