Gangs of three to run EU

‘Teams’ of European capitals will run the EU presidency under proposals backed by a majority of Europe’s foreign ministers.

Sources close to talks indicate that a preferred option to replace the current system of a six month rotating single EU presidency has emerged.

Under a new EU constitution three national governments will take Europe’s helm for a period of 18 months.

The longer time span will, reformers hope, give greater continuity to European decision-making.

Each European government will then, assisted by the ‘gang of three’, take turns to chair policy formations of councils of EU ministers for six month terms.

But some governments remain concerned that smaller national capitals may lose out on their six months in the sun at the helm of a single EU presidency.

Foreign policy – an area under the auspices of a proposed new EU ‘minister’ - will not be included within the rotation scheme.

Europe’s foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels to hold the first formal EU-wide constitution negotiations since talks collapsed in December.

Speaking on Monday European Parliament chief Pat Cox urged the ministers to clear up as much detail – such as the presidency’s mechanics - of an EU constitution as possible.

Cox hopes that if the decks can be cleared the way will be clear for EU leaders to do a deal at a June summit.

Real progress is being made towards trying to get through the technical issues which remain and, of course, the big political questions about the institutions their shape and their design," he said.

"Right now what we need to focus on - and this is the work that foreign ministers need to get down to today - is to clear as much as they can at the foreign minister level and not to kick upstairs an excessive volume of decision making>"

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