Question of the Week: Do you support the proposal by Poland’s acting premier Marek Belka to have a clause in the EU constitution enabling Member States representing one-fifth of the Union’s population to veto decisions?

Date: 03/06/04

LECH Walesa, the Solidarity trade union leader who played a pivotal role in the collapse of communism in central and eastern Europe, was the first president of a democratic Poland.

We asked him: Do you support the proposal by Poland's acting premier Marek Belka to have a clause in the EU constitution enabling member states representing one-fifth of the Union's population to veto decisions?

Walesa: Mr Belka seems to think that by coming up with proposals, this is a way of generating support. He wants to show that by being active and wise, he deserves the post of prime minister.

Because he has very little to do with the economy at the moment, he is looking for political connections.

There is a bunch of different proposals at the moment [on the constitution]. Some are good, some are not. Some people think the system should be based on the number of countries, others on the land we occupy. There are others who want to count the number of single women in member states and base it on that.

I don't think we have sufficient clarity at the moment.

My own view is that we should come up with a [Council of Ministers voting] system based on one-thirds. [Decisions could go through if supported by states representing] one-third of the [EU's combined] population, one-third of the wealth or one-third of the Union's land.

Question answered by Lech Walesa, former Solidarity trade union leader and President of Poland.