All countries attending the EU summit in Brussels will have to make compromises if a deal on a treaty to replace the failed constitution is to be reached.
Most countries broadly support the original text of the constitution and have similar positions on the main issues. They may still have to give some ground, however.
Five countries that want substantial changes to the treaty they signed in 2004 are more exposed and will have to fight their own corners.
Here is a summary of their objections.
POLAND
Poland is fighting a lone battle to scrap rules laid down in the constitution determining how countries vote on EU legislation. The constitution says a vote passes if it has the support of 55% of member states (ie 15 out of 27) - and if these countries represent 65% of the EU's population. This links a country's voting strength to the size of its population.
But the existing voting system, agreed after much haggling at a summit in Nice in 2000, is far more advantageous for Poland. Under the Nice Treaty, Poland got 27 votes out of a total of 345 - only two fewer than Germany, which has double the population. But Poland says it voted to join the EU on the basis of Nice, and it is unfair to move the goalposts.
As a compromise, it suggests a country's voting weight should be tied not to its population, but to the square root of its population.
This would sharply narrow the gap in voting power between large, middle-sized, and small member states.
UNITED KINGDOM
The UK is the only member state making a big effort to block further transfers of power to the EU.
The UK says the new treaty must not:
THE NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands' position partially overlaps with the UK's, though the Netherlands is less worried about giving up national vetoes.
The Dutch, along with the French, voted against the constitution in referendums in 2005, and the current Dutch government is "absolutely opposed" to reviving anything called a "constitution". Like the UK, it says the new treaty should be simply an "amending" treaty.
The Netherlands is against including in the treaty:
- The text of the Charter of Fundamental Rights - though unlike the UK it has no objection to the charter being made legally binding by other means.
- References to symbols such as the European flag and anthem.
- A reference to the primacy of EU law.
It is in favour of:
- Stating the criteria for further enlargement of the EU.
- A "red card" to oblige the European Commission to withdraw a proposed law, if a majority of national parliaments object to it.
- A guarantee that the EU will not force it to liberalise its public services.
CZECH REPUBLIC
The Czech government supports Polish objections to the new voting system, but principally because it does not want Poland to be isolated.
It supports the Dutch proposal for more powers for national parliaments, and favours the creation of a mechanism for powers to be returned to national governments.
Like the UK, it is against the proposed EU foreign affairs supremo being given the title "foreign minister".
FRANCE
France wants a simple treaty, rather than a constitution, but is not against a general move to replace national vetoes with majority voting.
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