Fight over voting rights sinks European Union deal

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- A summit to forge a constitution for aunited, post-Cold War Europe collapsed Saturday after leaders failedto agree on sharing power within an expanded European Union.

The deal-breaker was a proposal to abandon a voting systemaccepted in 2000 that gave Spain and incoming EU member Poland almostas much voting power as Germany, which has a population equal tothose two countries combined.

European leaders sought to minimize the damage, saying talks wouldresume next year, but the debacle leaves the EU in turmoil as itprepares for one of the greatest challenges in it 46-year history --accepting new members from the former Communist east.

The failure scuttles the EU's plan for a new president, foreignminister and a greater profile on the global stage to rival that ofthe United States.

It also raised doubts about the bloc's future direction and fearsover its cohesion. French President Jacques Chirac and GermanChancellor Gerhard Schroeder spoke of a core group of countriespressing ahead with closer integration -- a scenario others warnedwould divide the union.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair appealed for all to respect the"essential unity of Europe."

Blair insisted the summit failure would not delay the expansion inwhich Poland and nine smaller nations will join the bloc on May 1,expanding it from 15 to 25 members. He said the differences could beovercome and the constitution adopted, but he suggested leaders wouldtake at least several months before a breakthrough.

After almost two years of preparations, the constitutional talkswere sunk by the voting fight that pitted Germany and France againstSpain and Poland.

Spain and Poland said the proposal concentrated too much power inthe hands of EU's big four -- Germany, France, Britain and Italy.They want to keep a system that gives them almost as many votes asGermany, the union's biggest member.

The fight revealed an unusual level of public animosity among EUnations. Schroeder complained bitterly that nations "are representingtheir national interests and have left the European idea behind."

In Warsaw, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said Europeneeded "new ideas for a compromise."

"We must have more trust in each other," Kwasniewski said.

AP