European Union leaders meet in Rome today to launch an Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) aimed at finalising the text of a new constitutional treaty for Europe.
The EU's founding member-states have called for a draft text drawn up by the Convention on the Future of Europe to be adopted almost unchanged, but other countries are unhappy with important elements of the draft.
Germany's Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder, yesterday described the draft as "the result of a very balanced compromise between the interests of the large and the small countries" and warned against tampering with it.
"I am absolutely convinced that we should not touch it, because otherwise the success of the intergovernmental conference will be endangered. Anyone putting forward proposals to modify it must be aware that he is also undertaking to look for a new consensus."
Italy's foreign minister, Mr Franco Frattini, who will chair most of the IGC's nine sessions between now and December, said yesterday that no country should submit an amendment to the constitution unless it has a consensus for an alternative.
The leaders of seven small states have written to Italy's prime minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, calling for a broader debate within the IGC and hinting that the timetable is too tight.
"As the specific interests of member states may vary, the mandate of the Conference must be defined in a manner that makes it possible for member states to raise all issues they consider important," the leaders of Malta, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic and Finland said in their letter.
Poland has threatened to veto the constitution unless the voting arrangements for member-states in the Council of Ministers agreed at Nice are retained. The draft text wants to replace the present, complicated system of weighted votes with a requirement that most EU measures would need the backing of a majority of member-states comprising at least 60 per cent of the EU's population.
Spain has joined Poland in resisting the new voting system, which would benefit the EU's biggest and smallest countries at the expense of those in between.
Most small countries oppose a proposal to limit the number of voting Commissioners to 15, with some countries represented by non-voting assistant commissioners. The Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, has proposed an alternative arrangement, under which each member-state would nominate a Commissioner, but an inner group of Commissioners would take a leading role.
Belgium's Prime Minister, Mr Guy Verhofstadt, warned yesterday that Mr Prodi's proposal to create an inner core of Commissioners contained hidden dangers for small countries.
"I fear only the large countries would be part of that group in the future. Then you end up with two categories of commissioners: the large countries which would be part of the core commission and the others, which get to take up a seat in the commission but have little impact on policy.
The Irish Government is broadly happy with the draft text, but wants to make sure that there is no threat to the national veto on taxation, foreign policy and some areas of justice and home affairs.
Anti-globalisation protesters and trades' unions have promised a rowdy reception for the EU leaders. Security concerns have heightened following the discovery of three letter bombs at government and police offices on Thursday. Only one of the devices went off and no-one was injured. Police said unspecified anarchists were to blame.