EU faces struggle to meet tight deadline for new treaty

(BRUSSELS) - European Union leaders have set a tight deadline to adopt a new treaty of badly-needed reforms, and divisions among member countries and leadership changes will make it a tough one to meet.

In their non-binding "Berlin Declaration" made public Sunday the leaders committed to place "the European Union on a renewed common basis before the European Parliament elections in 2009."

For "renewed common basis", read "new treaty", EU officials say.

This would replace the constitutional treaty rejected in referendums two years ago by French and Dutch voters, leaving the EU in its worst-ever crisis.

And they are not just talking about an outline or draft to debate. It must be a concrete text that can restore public confidence in the EU enterprise by the next European elections.

"We need a result by 2009," said European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering -- who signed the declaration with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.

"We may have to rename it, but it will have substance," he said. "The proposal must have been completed so we have a treaty we can advocate to the public."

Easier said than done.

The constitution was drawn up over 18 months by hundreds of experts and should technically have been ratified by all 27 member countries by November last year. Only 18 have done so to date.

Compiling a new treaty would mean assembling the remnants of the constitution into a coherent form acceptable to every nation within two years.

The old blueprint would have simplified the way the bloc operates and created a longer-term president and a foreign minister, but the referendums exposed a deep gulf between EU elites and the people, particularly over enlargement.

Many countries have voiced objections to the 2009 deadline, and may raise them again given the non-binding nature of the Berlin Declaration.

Britain, the Czech Republic and Poland are among them -- the latter two, which joined the EU in 2004, for reasons of timing that appear linked to their first terms as EU president.

"There was no democratic debate or democratic discussion," over the "Berlin Declaration" lamented Czech President Vaclav Klaus on Sunday, days after the Czech premier complained about any deadline being imposed.

The date pops up during Prague's presidency in the first six months of 2009, leaving it with what would be a massive headache, even for the most EU-savvy nations.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski said the deadline was wishful thinking.

"It is perhaps a beautiful target, but it seems unrealistic to me," he said, adding that the leaders might agree on the wording by 2009 but that a treaty could not come into force before 2011.

Should the new treaty do away with the rotating presidency system, Poland would miss out on its cherished term at the helm in the second half of 2011.

So, what steps are next?

Merkel plans to come up with a roadmap -- ostensibly a timetable -- in June to lead the EU out of its institutional mire, exploiting a short "window of opportunity" after the French presidential elections in May.

Portugal, which takes over the presidency from Germany in July, is then likely to hold an inter-governmental conference to debate how to advance, and with what pieces of the constitution.

Much will depend on who wins the French elections, and what a less euro-friendly British leader than Prime Minister Tony Blair, stepping down soon, might want.

The challenge also arises with Italy deep in political strife and relatively new governments in Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden.

One hurdle may already have been jumped if French front-runner Nicolas Sarkozy becomes president. He said Sunday he would submit a "simplified treaty" for ratification in parliament, rather than hold a new referendum.

On Sunday, Merkel warned of the consequences of another failure.

"The situation would be very serious," she told ZDF television. "The stakes are very high for Europe."

Berlin Declaration - full text