E.U. leaders reach accord on structural reforms

By Vaiju Naravane

NICE (FRANCE), DEC. 11. The longest summit in the European Union's history concluded in the early hours of Monday with a last-minute agreement after seemingly unending rounds of marathon negotiations.

Officials said an agreement was reached after a great deal of give-and-take in which middle-sized countries such as Portugal and Holland made significant gains while the smallest nations were constrained to make the maximum concessions. The leaders endorsed a sweeping overhaul of E.U. house-keeping rules to ensure the bloc's decision-making capacity was not overwhelmed when new countries joined the organisation.

The agreement touched more upon majority voting in decision- making, reshaping the E.U. Executive Commission and allowing the most integration-minded nations to move forward on their own if they wished.

In the process, Germany asserted itself as the major power in the Union - and this to the evident discomfiture of the French, who had hoped to maintain the Franco-German axis as the pivot of the E.U. This will have far-reaching consequences on relations between countries within Europe and between Europe and the rest of the world.

In order to save the dream of a more cohesive, united and forward-looking Europe, the rest of the Union had to concede. Germany's primordial role within the Union has been reinforced as a result, while France, which fought hard to maintain its parity with its north-eastern neighbour, has had to accommodate Berlin's legitimate demand for an increased say for the European Parliament.

French commentators today said it was the fear of inviting ridicule which forced the hand of the French. Indeed, the dream of a more cohesive, united and forward-looking Europe was saved in the nick of time from turning into what the daily Liberation described as ``a Europe in pieces''.

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