Treaty change divides EU ministers
Source: Agencies |
October 26, 2010, Tuesday
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GERMANY and France face an uphill battle to secure backing for a change to the European Union's fundamental treaty, EU foreign ministers indicated in Luxembourg yesterday after a lengthy discussion of the issue.
Preparing the ground for an EU leaders' summit in Brussels on Thursday-Friday, when treaty change will be discussed, foreign ministers said opinion was sharply divided over the proposal, despite strong German and French backing.
Germany wants to change the EU's Lisbon treaty, which only came into force last December after eight years of negotiation, to make sure it includes a permanent system for handling financial crises, such as another Greek-style debt collapse.
France backs the initiative, but many others in the 27-country EU are sceptical about the benefits and concerned about the fallout from reopening a treaty whose ushering into law caused deep division and political uncertainty.
"The drama became clear to everybody," Austria's foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger, said yesterday, referring to a treaty change discussion on Sunday night.
"It underlines the need to find a solution - but the result was not the solution 'big treaty change'."
France, however, appears convinced that changing the treaty will be possible and its European affairs minister, Pierre Lellouche, described it as a necessary historical step.
"We are at an important moment in Europe's history," he told reporters, saying the stability of the euro single currency in part rested on making changes to the treaty.
"There is a true will from France and Germany to save our common currency," he said, while acknowledging treaty change was "hard to accept" for several other countries.
Germany has been pushing treaty change for months, but the idea only gained traction last week after a deal was struck in which Berlin won support for the plan in exchange for backing Paris on a softening of new EU budget rules.
Berlin wants a permanent crisis resolution mechanism because the current system, created in May to handle the fallout from the Greek debt crisis, runs out in 2013, is taxpayer funded and is legally ambiguous under the current Lisbon treaty.
At first the very idea of reworking the treaty so soon after it came into law looked a non-starter, with Britain and many others strongly opposed and any changes requiring EU unanimity.
But there are signs Britain could support the move if it only pertains to the 16 countries that use the euro, which would mean Britain not having to hold a referendum on the issue, a move that could cause cracks in its coalition government. Yet even if Germany and France can bring Britain onside, there remain multiple obstacles, and opening up the treaty could prompt others to propose their own widespread changes.
Preparing the ground for an EU leaders' summit in Brussels on Thursday-Friday, when treaty change will be discussed, foreign ministers said opinion was sharply divided over the proposal, despite strong German and French backing.
Germany wants to change the EU's Lisbon treaty, which only came into force last December after eight years of negotiation, to make sure it includes a permanent system for handling financial crises, such as another Greek-style debt collapse.
France backs the initiative, but many others in the 27-country EU are sceptical about the benefits and concerned about the fallout from reopening a treaty whose ushering into law caused deep division and political uncertainty.
"The drama became clear to everybody," Austria's foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger, said yesterday, referring to a treaty change discussion on Sunday night.
"It underlines the need to find a solution - but the result was not the solution 'big treaty change'."
France, however, appears convinced that changing the treaty will be possible and its European affairs minister, Pierre Lellouche, described it as a necessary historical step.
"We are at an important moment in Europe's history," he told reporters, saying the stability of the euro single currency in part rested on making changes to the treaty.
"There is a true will from France and Germany to save our common currency," he said, while acknowledging treaty change was "hard to accept" for several other countries.
Germany has been pushing treaty change for months, but the idea only gained traction last week after a deal was struck in which Berlin won support for the plan in exchange for backing Paris on a softening of new EU budget rules.
Berlin wants a permanent crisis resolution mechanism because the current system, created in May to handle the fallout from the Greek debt crisis, runs out in 2013, is taxpayer funded and is legally ambiguous under the current Lisbon treaty.
At first the very idea of reworking the treaty so soon after it came into law looked a non-starter, with Britain and many others strongly opposed and any changes requiring EU unanimity.
But there are signs Britain could support the move if it only pertains to the 16 countries that use the euro, which would mean Britain not having to hold a referendum on the issue, a move that could cause cracks in its coalition government. Yet even if Germany and France can bring Britain onside, there remain multiple obstacles, and opening up the treaty could prompt others to propose their own widespread changes.
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