E.U. bitterly divided

last updated 8 January 2015

Brussels

The first E.U. summit to include the 10 prospective new members collapsed in disarray last weekend after the countries couldn’t agree on a constitution. The stumbling block centered on voting power in the E.U.’s main decision-making body. Poland and Spain wanted to stick with the system that was agreed on three years ago, which would have given them nearly as many votes as Germany, which has twice their populations. Germany and France backed a new, weighted system of voting. Animosity was already high between the two camps over the Iraq war, which Poland and Spain supported but Germany and France opposed, and the talks broke down early. The expansion of the E.U. from 15 to 25 members will still go ahead next May, as planned; the union will continue to operate under the old system.