EU leaders tackle thorny issues

In this story: Controversy surrounds EU defence force EU members mark out 'no-go' areas RELATED STORIES, SITES

NICE, France -- European Union leaders are meeting to discuss crucial, but contentious, issues which will affect the future of the organisation.

Top of the agenda in the French city of Nice will be decisions on increased powers for the biggest member states and the issue of the setting up of a so-called Rapid Reaction Force.

The voting entitlements of the major members are seen as key to a treaty-changing deal paving the way for enlarging the 15-strong EU to a "club" of at least 27 member nations in the next few years.

Meanwhile, outside the summit centre, security is tight following the opening day's opening clashes between French riot police and hundreds of protesters.

REFERENCE   •  Summit preview   •  Main sticking point   •  Chirac's salvation?   •  On the agenda   •  What do they want?   •  Votes vs. population   •  Jargon glossary   •  EU enlargement map   •  History of EU growth   •  What kind of Europe?   •  France's EU presidency   •  In-depth: Changing face of Europe   •  Message board

As the summit began an estimated 4,000 protesters ran amok in streets around the venue, setting fire to a bank, throwing stones and daubing storefronts with revolutionary slogans.

Officials said about 20 police were slightly injured in the clashes and 45 protesters arrested.

"These acts are contrary to the democratic traditions of our European countries," Chirac said.

Meanwhile, a five-point declaration setting out the purpose and status of the controversial new defence force says deployment of troops remains a sovereign issue and states that it does not amount to "the establishment of a European army."

Also expected to be discussed are other pressing problems ranging from food safety to the safety of shipping.

EU leaders will also discuss summit declarations on the stalled climate change negotiations, the importance of sport in European culture, and their commitment to maritime safety in the wake of the Erika tanker disaster a year ago.

Following Thursday's opening day debate on the growing mad cow disease crisis, delegates will also discuss the new 250-strong, £25 million a year European Food Authority, to be sited either in Helsinki, Barcelona or Parma.

The authority will be the centrepiece of the EU's plans to ensure the safety of the entire food chain, although there is some doubt that a final decision on its location may not be made in Nice.

The summit is set to finish on Saturday, but France, the host nation and holder of the rotating EU presidency, has warned it could extend beyond the weekend.

The EU needs to agree on the reforms -- the bloc's biggest internal restructuring since its 1991 Maastricht Treaty -- to give national parliaments time to ratify them and be able to honour a pledge to admit some new countries from 2003.

"Everyone wants to reach a deal in Nice so as not to delay enlargement," said French President Jacques Chirac.

But the main sticking point of the day is expected to be over the twin problems of majority voting and relative voting strengths of each country.

The larger EU states -- Germany, France, Britain and Italy -- are seeking greater voting weight relative to small states, which have a disproportionate share of votes.

Germany wants more votes than the other big states to reflect the fact that since unification it has 20 million more citizens than them.

There are also disagreements over which subjects should be decided by majority voting, abandoning national vetoes and whether to limit the size of the executive European Commission.

Britain has set out several "no-go" areas for which the veto must be kept include taxation, social security, and border controls.

But other member states have their own non-negotiable issues too - including Germany, which has warned that Europe's future must be put ahead of narrow national interests.

The pressure is on the Germans and France, the summit's host, to give ground to ensure the new treaty goes far enough to make enlargement a practical reality.

France has said it is not prepared to extend "qualified majority voting" to asylum and immigration policy and trade matters unless the others make concessions.

Further discontent can be found in that the UK, Sweden, Germany and Finland are insisting on qualified majority voting for the services sector in trade, but France, Greece and Denmark are staunchly against.

French President Jacques Chirac, the summit chairman, highlighted differences with the U.S. over the planned 60,000-strong European Rapid Reaction Force for crisis management by saying the EU's military planning should be independent of NATO's military headquarters.

That comment is said to have irritated Britain and came after U.S. Defence Secretary William Cohen warned European allies earlier this week they could make NATO a relic of the past if they set up rival or parallel defence structures.

Speaking soon after his arrival in Nice, Chirac had said that any European defence initiative which for some reason did not involve the United States should still be "coordinated with the Alliance."

"But it must, in its planning and implementation, be independent as regards SHAPE (NATO's operational arm the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) -- coordinated but independent," he said.

The French president's remarks are seen as an embarrassment for UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has been trying to fend off criticism from Eurosceptics at home by arguing that the rapid reaction force will not be a rival to NATO and is not a precursor to a European army.

The Times newspaper, on Friday, quoted one British official at the summit as saying that Chirac was "playing to the gallery in a traditional Gaullist way."

The newspaper quoted another as saying: "He (Chirac) made an agreement with us and we will hold him to it."

In a statement, Blair said: "There may well be circumstances in which NATO does not want to be involved, for example because America does not want to participate.

"But there are still NATO assets that are going to be used, and the important thing is that the military planning capability remains with NATO. There's no proposal, no desire or decision for a separate European military capability."

He added that when an agreement on the rapid reaction force was ratified, it would be one "that NATO supports, Britain supports and the French can live with."

Reuters contributed to this report.

Violence flares at EU summit
December 7, 2000
Protesters target EU summit
December 6, 2000
Defence row looms at EU summit
December 5, 2000
"Mad cow" threatens to hijack EU summit
December 3, 2000
EU force 'will strengthen NATO'
November 26, 2000

European Council - Nice Summit
European Commission
European Union
NATO

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.