BRITAIN and France yesterday won their battle to ensure that representatives of the European Parliament were not allowed to take part in the upcoming intergovernmental conference (IGC) on the future shape of the EU.
A deal struck at a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels staved off the possibility of a row over the issue when EU leaders meet on Friday in Turin to launch the IGC.
Although they will not be allowed to sit in on the negotiations, the parliamentarians will be allowed to present their views on the progress of the conference at the start of at least one negotiating session a month.
The agreement is subject to the parliament's approval but Britain and France made it clear they would not yield.
Both countries fear having the parliament's representatives in the negotiations could compromise governments' ability to negotiate on sensitive issues such as the scope of national vetoes in decision making.
"It is not satisfactory but it was clear that Britain and France were not going to move," said Luxembourg's Foreign Minister, Mr Jacques Poos.
President Jacques Chirac yesterday outlined a French initiative to define a social model" for Europe and said he would present his proposals in Turin on Friday.
The initiative was the centrepiece of a lengthy article on Europe contributed by Mr Chirac to the left of centre newspaper, Liberation and proposed measures to encourage job creation, restrict working hours and reduce disparities in social and welfare provision across Europe.
The precise content of the plan will be finalised at tomorrow's cabinet meeting and circulated to France's European partners on the eve of the Turin conference.
Meanwhile, Greece is continuing to threaten to block EU customs union funds for Turkey if Ankara does not accept taking their disputes to the The Hague. The two countries are at odds over territorial waters in the Aegean, the divided island of Cyprus and minority rights in Greece's western Thrace region.
In Ankara yesterday, the Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Mesut Yilmaz, said he was disappointed by Greece's lukewarm reaction to his call for mediated talks between the two Nato member states.
"This is not the positive response we were for waiting for," Mr Yilmaz said after a meeting of his Motherland Party (ANAP). "We expected a more positive reply from Greece."
Greece has played down an offer from Turkey at the weekend to put aside old rivalries and resolve their many disputes. In Athens, the Greek government spokesman, Mr Dimitris Reppas, said earlier that good relations hinged on concrete steps by Turkey such as condemning violence, declaring its respect for international law and treaties and taking feuds to the International Court in The Hague.
"Turkey must make the first step in erasing the tension it created and replacing the threats of war with acts of peace," Mr Reppas said.
Mr Yilmaz had said on Sunday that a third party could mediate differences over sovereignty rights in the Aegean but he fell short of specifically agreeing to go to the International Court.