Polen positief over nieuw compromis stemwegingen (en)

Poland has given its clearest signal yet that it will compromise on the Constitution - removing a major obstacle to eventual agreement on the treaty blueprint.

Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski yesterday (18 March) spoke in positive terms about the new voting system in the draft Constitution - something which until now Warsaw had been strongly against.

Mr Kwasniewski told FT Deutschland that a compromise on the voting method - known as the double majority system - currently being considered by the Irish EU Presidency is "an important and interesting idea".

"We now have a situation that is very positive".

The compromise says that in the future decisions would be taken when 55% of member states representing 55% of the EU population agree to it.

Similarly, according to the Financial Times, Prime Minister Leszek Miller said "Individual loneliness is a very unpleasant mental state".

"For a country it would be very dangerous".

Mr Miller's comments come as Spain, Poland's ally in opposing the new voting system, reversed its position after general elections at the weekend.

Until now both Warsaw and Madrid had fought tooth and nail to keep the system under the Nice Treaty of 2000 which gave the two countries beneficial voting weights.

The move by Poland is likely to be warmly welcomed by France and Germany and will set the ball rolling for a series of last meetings before all 25 EU leaders gather in Brussels at the end of next week.

These include a meeting between Irish prime minister and current head of the EU Bertie Ahern and French President Jacques Chirac on Monday (22 March) as well as between German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Mr Miller the following day.