EU Treaty Talks

Talks among EU foreign minister were able to proceed after Poland backtracked away from objections concerning reforms to the bloc's voting structure.

"After an initial scrutiny of the draft reform treaty we see that solutions proposed by ... the [EU] presidency are close to our expectations," Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga told a news conference after a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Warsaw had initially insisted that groups of EU member states have the power to block contentious legislation for a two-year "period of scrutiny" but later dropped the demand.

"We will not insist on an initial requirement of two years," Fotyga said, adding that she still expected a period lasting a "reasonable time" to be incorporated in the final document. EU observers have said that period of time would likely be a maximum of four months.

Draft ready by October

Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, welcomed the Polish statements and said he expected a draft of the reform treaty to be hammered out and agreed to by October and ratified by mid-2009.

"We should be able to have a new treaty as soon as possible," said Amado. "We have a commitment from all ... to meet these requirements."

The European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged all EU states to show "loyal and active support" to the Portuguese EU presidency, saying it was time the bloc stopped feuding over institutions and faced key challenges of today.

"We need to work quickly but carefully," Barroso said.

Political debate still to come

Amado added that Monday's talks focused on technical aspects of the draft treaty and that its political dimensions would be debated later. EU legal experts will open discussions on the treaty in Brussels on Tuesday and are set to meet regularly until the bloc's summit in Lisbon in October.

"I envisage the possibility of some level of political discussion but not at the moment," he said. "It is vital that the Union should not allow itself to be paralysed once again on account of internal, institutional problems, so that is may respond to the real challenges that it must face."

Under German Chancellor Angela Merkel's leadership, EU members agreed in June to a deal that would streamline the bloc by giving more power to its foreign policy chief, electing a long-term EU president and instituting changes to the bloc's voting system.

Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn predicted that the treaty details could be finalized at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in early September but warned: "The devil is in the detail."

The new amended treaty will replace an EU draft constitution which was rejected by Dutch and French voters two years ago, plunging the bloc into crisis.

EU governments are hoping the new rulebook will be ratified by their legislatures over the coming months and enter into force by summer 2009, just ahead of elections to the European Parliament.