Iers voorzitterschap bespreekt kwestie van stemwegingen met Poolse premier (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller will on Thursday (29 January) meet his Irish counterpart and current head of the EU, Bertie Ahern, to discuss how to break the deadlock on the EU Constitution.

The key question on the agenda in Dublin will be voting rights in the future EU - an issue which determines the balance of power in the Union.

Until now Poland has resisted all attempts to give up the Nice Treaty system - in which Poland has almost as many votes (27) as Germany (29) which has twice the population -in favour of a system geared to take population size into account.

Furthermore, Mr Miller, who is facing a tough domestic situation with his government hit by scandal and low support for his SLD party, will have a real problem in selling a turn-about to his people - particularly as the debate ran at a 'Nice or Die' level at certain stages last year.

"If anyone expects Poland to be a partner that doesn't have its own opinion, that doesn't want to speak out or can't speak out then he's mistaken".

"I'd rather Poland was active than just standing around in a corner taking orders from someone else", said Mr Miller defiantly, in an interview with the New York Times over the weekend.

However, two elements are likely to nuance the discussions since the failed Brussels Summit which Mr Miller attended in a wheelchair following a helicopter crash.

First of all, Spain's Jose Maria Aznar, Mr Miller's strongest ally on the voting issue, will step down next month after general elections in his country - his successor may alter the tone of the debate meaning that Warsaw could be standing alone.

Also, it would be easier for Poland, for historical reasons, to make concessions to the Irish Presidency rather than to Germany - which is the strongest proponent of the new voting system.

Speaking during a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday (26 January), Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said, "If there is no agreement in the coming months ... then the issue will become less urgent".

The relatively positive meeting on Monday, along with the series of bilateral meetings that Mr Ahern has been conducting, will contribute to an overall feasibility report on a Constitution deal to be delivered by the Irish Presidency at an EU Summit in March.