Stroeve voortgang toerbeurtsysteem voorzitterschap EU (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Italian Presidency proposal to create a new system of team presidencies in the EU Constitution has raised as many questions as it has answers.

While the idea of having a team to lead sectoral councils has become more "mainstream" as the Austrian foreign minister Benita Ferrero Waldner put it, there are still several complex but extremely important questions to be answered.

The questions which will determine the division of power between member states were not cleared up at a meeting of foreign ministers to discuss the Constitution on Monday (27 October) in Brussels.

Creating chaos on purpose?

Small countries are particularly concerned that tasks are shared out equally and that there is geographic equality and equality between small and large member states.

However, countries such as France, Belgium and Luxembourg questioned whether the team presidency proposal "has any added value" and said they would rather stick with the current six month rotating system if a new system proves to be too complicated.

The Luxembourg foreign minister Lydie Polfer was particularly strong in her criticism of the complicated system proposed by the Italian EU Presidency.

She said that disorder was being created so that the permanent President of the European Council would have to clear it up - this would mean more powers for the President; something which smaller countries such as Luxembourg greatly fear.

A separate protocol

For its part, the Italian EU Presidency was upbeat about the discussion on the team Presidency idea.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that it had been agreed that principles behind the team presidencies - parity among member states, geographic equality and the fair division of tasks - would be put into the Constitution itself.

However, the way in which these principles would be achieved would be written in a separate protocol.

Several countries on Monday expressed the worry that the Constitution would become weighed down with too much detail.

It also still has to be agreed whether the team presidency shall consist of three countries for 18 months, or four countries for 24 months.

Waiting until November

At the moment, there is no team presidency idea foreseen in the draft Constitution. The draft currently suggests that councils be rotated "on the basis of equal rotation for a period of at least a year".

However, several countries opposed this system and the team presidency idea was something that Italian Presidency thought up as a compromise.

A diplomat said, however, that several delegations are not going to say exactly whether they are for or against the idea and in what form until an entire 'package' on the institutional questions is agreed.

This package is set to be handed over by the Italian Presidency at the end of November and thrashed out by foreign ministers at a meeting in Naples over the last weekend of next month.