After five days of intense discussion, the negotiating parties decided that Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom will each receive 29 votes in the Council of Ministers of the European Union; Spain will be represented by 27 votes, the Netherlands will receive 13 votes, Greece, Belgium and Portugal 12 each, Sweden and Austria 10 each, Finland, Denmark and Ireland 7 votes each, Luxembourg 4 votes. In addition, the treaty approved in principle the plans of a number of European states to join the European Union. Thus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus, which declared their desire to join the organization in March 1998, will most likely become full members in 2003. Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey have also declared their intention to become members of the European Union.
In addition, the treaty signed in Nice expands the composition of the European Commission from 20 to 27 members. Finally, the number of members of the European Parliament increases from 626 to 732.
The provisions of the new treaty must be finally ratified by the legislative assemblies of the 15 EU member states, as well as by members of the European Parliament. It is expected that the provisions of the treaty will enter into force no earlier than the end of 2002.
At the same time, RIA Novosti reports, the signed treaty on reforming the institutions of the European Union in light of the upcoming eastward expansion has drawn mixed reactions from European politicians. Thus, French President Jacques Chirac believes that "the new treaty on reforming the European Union has a green light for ratification by both chambers of the French parliament." For his part, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin stated that the French government "will do everything possible to ensure that this process is completed in the coming months."
President of the European Parliament Nicole Fontaine, on the one hand, welcomed the signing of the treaty in Nice, but on the other hand expressed concern that "if one of the EU countries does not ratify it, it will be a catastrophe much greater than Sunday's earthquake in Nice, which, however, caused no casualties or destruction." She noted that referendums on the content of the new treaty in Nice may be held in a number of EU countries.
Leader of the European Green parties Daniel Cohn-Bendit called the treaty in Nice "very bad." Meanwhile, French Socialist Party leaders Pervenche Berès and François Loncle believe that the document signed in Nice "will help today's Europe get back on its feet."
"The treaty concluded in Nice on Monday is the best possible option for the current state of the European Union," said French Minister for European Affairs Pierre Moscovici.
As is known, in early December last year, when the official summit of EU heads of state and government was held in Nice, street clashes between opponents of economic globalization and French police occurred in the city. On the approaches to the Palace of Congresses, where European leaders were meeting, shops were ransacked, a branch of the National Bank of France was set on fire, and about a dozen cars were burned. In this regard, the venue of the treaty signing ceremony—the Sabre Palace in the old part of Nice—was cordoned off by significant police and French special forces for fear of street unrest.
According to EU rules, the next changes to its constitutional documents can occur no earlier than 2004, when it may already have 27 members. The admission of 12 new members to the European Union is planned to begin in 2003. The candidates for enlargement are countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the island states of the Mediterranean, Cyprus and Malta.