EU: The Swedish Foreign Minister has expressed doubts over the Italian government's ability to finish negotiations on a draft text for an EU constitution, saying it would be easier for Ireland to conclude the process.
Ms Anna Lindh told reporters at a meeting of EU foreign ministers she did not think Italy was capable of closing the negotiations, leaving Ireland, next in line as EU president, to pick up the pieces.
She said it was going to be tough to nail down an agreement, suggesting that the Italian Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, was not the best person to lead the talks.
"I think it will be easier for Ireland [to finish the IGC\] . . . It is politically better anchored," she told reporters.
The foreign ministers agreed to put almost every element of Europe's proposed constitution on the agenda of final negotiations in eight meetings between October and mid-December.
Italy, which currently holds the EU presidency, initially hoped to avoid renegotiation of central parts of the draft constitution agreed at the Convention on the Future of Europe.
However, Italy's Foreign Minister, Mr Franco Frattini proposed a "road map" for negotiations that leaves almost all key issues open to discussion.
Among the issues identified as needing "clarification" are: the role of the rotating presidency in Council formations such as meetings of agriculture and environment ministers; the status and role of a European foreign minister; and the future of the European security and defence policy, in particular the circumstances in which groups of states could co-operate more closely on defence within EU structures.
Mr Frattini said substantial differences needed to be resolved on the definition of qualified majority voting (whether to move from a system of weighted votes to a double majority reflecting population and the number of member-states).
There were also major differences on the areas where national vetoes should be abolished and the minimum threshold for seats in the European Parliament as well as the question of whether to mention Christian values in the constitution's preamble.
Mr Frattini sought to exclude two major questions from the negotiations: the appointment of a full-time president of the European Council and a reform of the Commission that would give only half the commissioners voting rights.
The Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, told the meeting that the issue of the composition of the Commission must be on the agenda of the Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) that negotiates the final text of the constitution.
"On this question, the draft constitution is not the best solution. All commissioners must have equal rights: that is essential for collegiality.
"It is the only sound basis for a commission.
"I will make concrete proposals to show how restructuring and reorganisation can address the concerns about efficiency in a large commission," he said.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said he welcomed Mr Frattini's proposed agenda, which he believed would allow the Government to raise all its concerns about the draft constitution.
The Government's main concerns centre on the extension of qualified majority voting to some policy areas, notably taxation and some areas of justice and home affairs.
It is also seeking clarification on the role of an EU foreign minister and on the functioning of enhanced co-operation in the area of defence.