Foreign ministers discussed the outstanding issues on institutional reform at a meeting on 17 June 2007. However, a breakthrough was not in sight with the Polish veto threat left hanging. Poland, supported by the Czech Republic, is holding on to its proposed change to the Council voting system.
Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga told reporters that the proposed double-majority voting system would reduce Poland’s influence, and said: "We cannot accept that."
Following a meeting with Polish President Lech Kaczynski on 16 June, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that "fundamentally, the positions have not changed". She added: "We still have some serious problems to solve before the Summit."
Another sticking point is the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which the UK and the Netherlands do not want to see included in the text. A UK government spokesperson said: "We will not accept anything in a new Treaty, which requires us to change our existing labour and social legislation."
Meanwhile, an FT online poll showed that the strong majority of voters in the five major member states, Germany, France, the UK, Spain and Italy want to be consulted in a referendum on a new EU Treaty. However, the same survey showed that support for further enlargement of the Union is waning. In France and Germany, a majority of respondents was opposed to Turkey joining the EU.
