EU leaders to discuss new treaty

Germany is hoping for a deal to crown its presidency of the EU

EU leaders are preparing to meet in Brussels to discuss a treaty to help the union work more effectively.

A draft tabled by Germany recommends deep reforms, but not a constitution - an idea spurned by French and Dutch voters two years ago.

The paper makes several concessions to EU member states opposed to key parts of the failed constitution.

But Poland and the UK are still warning they could use their vetoes if they do not get their way on a new treaty.

'No super federal state'

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told the BBC on Thursday that the revised treaty "is good for Britain".

"Britain - with this agreement that is on the table - will have more votes, will have much more votes," he told Radio 4's Today programme.

Failure would almost amount to humiliation for Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel Mardell's thoughts in full

"It is good for all those who want to push forward an agenda of an open Europe, a modern Europe, a Europe that is efficient. It is not at all about creating a kind of super federal state. No one is proposing this. Why are we creating imaginary threats?"

The UK Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, said Britain wanted a Europe "of sovereign nations, not a superstate".

The summit is intended to issue a mandate for an intergovernmental conference to agree the precise wording of a treaty to replace the failed constitution.

We realise we cannot stop the process [of reform] - that would be too risky for the future Jaroslaw Kaczynski Polish Prime Minister Q&A: EU constitution EU summit sticking points Q&A: Charter of Fundamental Rights

If it fails, it will plunge the EU into a political crisis as deep as the one that followed the rejection of the constitution by French and Dutch voters two years ago.

The German paper proposes that the new treaty is called "The Reform Treaty", accepts that the EU will not have a "foreign minister", and provides countries with a chance to opt out of EU policies in the area of policing and criminal law.

'Olive branch'

Correspondents say the biggest remaining problem for the UK could be Germany's continued support for the idea of making the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding.

The UK fears this could allow the European Court to make decisions that would change British labour law.

The part of the constitution that Poland most disliked - the introduction of a new voting system for decisions taken by member states - is preserved in the latest German proposals, seen by the BBC.

However, the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels says the German paper offers Poland a "discreet olive branch".

For the first time it mentions, in a footnote, that the Poles, backed by the Czechs, want to raise the idea of changing the voting system at the summit.

The new system would benefit larger member states to the detriment of smaller and medium-sized ones, and have the effect of reducing Poland's clout.

'50-50 chance of deal'

Despite his warnings of a possible veto, Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski hinted that Warsaw could drop its opposition if it guaranteed a strong voice in EU decision-making.

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"We realise we cannot stop the process [of reform] - that would be too risky for the future," he told Reuters news agency.

He said there was a 50-50 chance of the summit ending in agreement.

Under the latest German proposals, Britain gets reassurances that the European Courts will have no power to examine foreign affairs policies.

And at the request of the Dutch, the draft gives more power to national parliaments to block EU laws.

But a Dutch proposal to enshrine criteria for further enlargement in the treaty, is not fully satisfied.

That would send a very negative signal to Balkan countries, an EU diplomat said.

BBC