MICHAEL HOLMES, WORLD NEWS: There may also be battles over ballots at Thursday's European Union summit in France. EU members want to extend eastward. But as Chris Burns reports, the nations leading that charge can't agree on individual nations' voting rights.</s>CHRIS BURNS, CORRESPONDENT: Perhaps it would be easier if a court settled this voting dispute. Less than a week away from the crucial European Union summit in Nice, French president Jacques Chirac and German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder were unable to agree on how to revamp EU voting rules. It's a key part of reform aimed at streamlining decision-making within the 15-nation EU and paving the way for as many as a dozen or more member countries to join in the coming years, mostly from Eastern Europe. France has been insisting on maintaining voting parity with Germany, even though after unification a decade ago, Germany numbers 82 million people, over 20 million more than any other EU country. Currently France, Germany, Britain and Italy each has 10 votes on the EU Council of Ministers. After two hours of talks in Hanover, the best Chancellor Schroeder could say was, "We have agreed that we will agree." And some spin control on the French side as well. Said President Chirac, "If we do get a good deal, which is acceptable to everyone, and allows us to run the EU in a sensible way, then there will be no Franco-German problem." Mr. Chirac also reported what he called slow progress during his tour of European capitals, in an attempt to find a consensus ahead of the Nice summit. France currently holds the rotating EU presidency. Britain, for instance, has been resisting proposals to get rid of voting by consensus, effectively ending veto power on such sensitive issues as taxation. Spain is pressing for better representation. Smaller countries worry about getting steam rolled. And without a pre-summit agreement between France and Germany, considered the leading countries behind EU integration, the prospects of a Nice accord remain dim. Chris Burns, CNN, Berlin.
EU Member Nations To Take Up Issue Of Voting Rights