Blijvende onenigheid tussen Warschau en Berlijn over stemwegingen (en)

A meeting between the foreign ministers of Poland and Germany in Berlin yesterday ended with both sides unable to make headway on the Constitution.

However, both Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz and Joschka Fischer were at pains to stress how important a rapid agreement on the Constitution is for Europe.

"It will not get easier", said Mr Fischer according to Handelsblatt. "The quicker it goes, the better for Europe".

Mr Cimoszewicz said "Europe needs a Constitution not only because of the content but also because of its symbolic value".

He added that it would better if an agreement could be reached before official enlargement of the EU on 1 May, which is why Poland wants a compromise as quickly as possible".

Negotiations on the text failed last month over the controversial issue of vote weighting.

Under the proposed new system, which takes into account member states' populations, Germany stands to gain the most. But Poland, which currently has a relatively good weighting under the Nice Treaty, would lose out.

Irish Presidency - behind the scenes

For its part, the Irish EU Presidency, which is currently trying to pull together the elements of an agreement by working behind the scenes, is aware of the need for speed.

Speaking yesterday (14 January) to deputies in the European Parliament, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said "excessive delay will damage our credibility and weaken our standing. Stalemate is not an option any of us can contemplate".

Mr Ahern will be meeting Poland's Leszek Miller and Spain's José Maria Aznar at the end of this month. A meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is planned for the beginning of February.

If the Irish are sure that agreement can be reached - they will call a meeting on the Constitution - but they will not risk another high-profile failure like last month's fiasco in Brussels.

Diplomats say that an EU foreign minister meeting on 26 January may be an occasion for informal discussions on the Constitution.

All going well, a meeting on the Constitution could be called in April or May.