Giscard: compromis over stemgewicht binnen bereik (en)

The architect of Europe's draft Constitution claims he has found a solution to the tricky voting problem which will help clear the way for negotiations to finish in June.

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing told the Financial Times that he has proposed a compromise solution on the voting system which is acceptable to Spain and Poland - the two countries previously most opposed to reforming the system.

"I proposed an amendment for the voting system which will be accepted by the Spanish and the Polish", he told the newspaper.

Spain and Poland, which would lose influence under the new system, would be able to invoke an emergency mechanism if they were outvoted during a transition period, which could last until 2012.

If they lost a vote of "key national interest" in this period they could appeal using the voting system agreed at the Nice summit in 2000.

But the principle of double majority - where a decision would be carried when it has the support of 50 percent of member states representing 60 percent of the EU's population -would remain.

Under the current treaty draft, the double majority system would come into place in 2009 without this option for an emergency mechanism.

Mr Giscard says he has discussed the proposal with both the new Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Poland's Leszek Miller.

EU leaders recently committed themselves to finishing the Constitution by 18 June - after negotiations collapsed at a summit in December.