German-Polish rift hits celebrations

With less than a month before EU leaders are meant to agree a declaration celebrating 50 years of the European project, governments are still deeply divided over the wording of the text.

Senior EU diplomats say that worsening relations between Germany and Poland are making discussions harder, while the UK and a handful of other countries are blocking any explicit reference to the constitution in the declaration.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided not to present a draft text to other EU leaders at their meeting on 8-9 March. Instead, she is expected to outline possible key points of the declaration at the start of a dinner of EU leaders on 8 March. The first draft will only emerge after the summit.

While there is consensus that the declaration should be short and easily understandable to ordinary citizens, governments remain divided on a number of important issues. EU diplomats say that deteriorating relations between Berlin and Warsaw have hindered efforts to narrow differences between the two governments’ views. The Polish government is angry with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier for his suggestion that the US should have consulted Russia over its plans to locate radar bases in Poland and the Czech Republic as part of a missile defence system.

Berlin is increasingly frustrated with Warsaw’s refusal to lift its veto over starting negotiations for a new partnership and co-operation agreement with Russia because of Russia’s ban on imports of Polish meat. The two countries are also at loggerheads over the construction of a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea which would bring Russian gas to Germany but would bypass Poland, and disputes over property after the Second World War.

Poland is one of a number of countries which are opposing efforts by Merkel to include in the declaration a reference to the need to reach agreement on the constitution in June. Marek Cichoki, Poland’s senior EU diplomat who is negotiating with the German presidency, said last week that the issue of the constitution could be left until 2011.

The Polish government is keen to re-open negotiations on the system of double majority voting agreed under the EU constitution which gives Germany more power in Council, in line with the relative size of its population. Poland, which only reluctantly accepted the double majority system, now wants to increase its voting strength relative to that of Germany.

The UK is also resisting any reference to the constitution, although it could accept language on the need for further institutional change to deal with future challenges. The UK would like a reference to enlargement as one of the EU’s achievements as well as a future goal. But countries including France and Austria, whose publics are sceptical about enlargement, want to avoid a specific reference to it in the declaration.

The declaration is expected to contain three sections: the EU’s achievements (although member states are divided on whether to include references to the euro and the Schengen area), values (such as tolerance, diversity and reconciliation) and future challenges and policy priorities (including tackling globalisation and climate change and the need for future institutional reform).

Germany wants the June EU summit to agree to launch a short intergovernmental confer-ence (IGC) to adopt a new text of the constitution by the end of 2007. To keep the IGC short, Berlin wants the June EU summit to agree a very limited mandate and specify which issues should not be re-opened, such as the voting system.

With less than a month before EU leaders are meant to agree a declaration celebrating 50 years of the European project, governments are still deeply divided over the wording of the text.