Spaanse premier Aznar acht compromis over Grondwet onwaarschijnlijk (en)

Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar, whose country played a significant part in the failure of the Constitution talks last month, believes that compromise on the text is unlikely.

According to a report in Der Standard, during a speech at Georgetown university in Washington, Mr Aznar said he did not think an agreement on the draft EU Constitution would be possible.

Talks failed in December as Spain and Poland refused to accept a new voting system, which would have benefitted France and Germany but seen their own influence fall.

Writing in today's Financial Times, Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz appeared to confirm this.

"The Polish position on the crucial issue of the voting system in the European Council remains basically unchanged", he said.

However, the hard alliance formed between Poland and Spain may alter after the Spanish general elections in March - after which Mr Aznar will step down.