Miller and Spanish PM meet and consolidate common stance over EU issues

Prime Minister Leszek Miller met with his Spanish counterpart Jose Maria Aznar in Madrid yesterday, during the first government to government talks before the EU enlargement in 2004. Both Poland and Spain are against the plans to amend the current decision making system in the European Commission, which was agreed upon in 2000 in Nice. According to the new system, prepared by the European Convent as part of the EU Constitution, the voting power of Poland and Spain will be reduced as compared to the older version. Both Prime Ministers believe that the European Convent did not have the right to question these institutional issues and to propose solutions concerning the voting system in the EU Council. Miller and Aznar emphasized that the Nice Treaty is a compromise solution which is needed by the enlarging Union, and therefore should be implemented. Aznar added that it is best for the EU to respect whatever was earlier agreed upon, especially as these treaties have already been ratified. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 7; Rzeczpospolita, p. A1) A.K.