(19 Jun 2007)
1. Wide exterior of EU Council building (Brussels)
2. EU Flag
3. Wide of press conference held by Polish chief EU negotiators
4. Cutaway
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Marek Cichocki, EU adviser to Polish President Kaczynski:
"That is why we asked to put the decision-making system in the mandate. And if we are not able to find a reasonable solution at the Summit then we should have more time to discuss this question during the IGC (Intergovernmental Conference)."
6. Cutaway
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ewa Osniecka-Tamecka, Polish Minister for European Affairs (on lack of support from member states for Polish position):
"I don't want to say that it is normal. And I don't want to say that we are happy with that. But we, I think that it is not so dangerous at this stage. Still we are before the discussions on the mandate. And still we have chances to discuss that at the IGC. SO this is not a dramatic situation I would say like that."
8. Cutaway of Polish proposal
9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ewa Osniecka-Tamecka, Polish Minister for European Affairs:
"Veto is the instrument which is given at the disposal of the member states. And there is, and it is obvious for everybody, that everybody can use it. Now we work on the mandate. Now we work on the conclusions of the Summit, of the draft. And then we will discuss it."
10. Wideshot
STORYLINE:
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso lashed out on Tuesday at countries who staunchly oppose a proposal to salvage key parts of the European Union's aborted constitution for a new, slimmed-down EU treaty.
Barroso warned Poland that their continuing opposition to the proposed treaty - a document crucial to the future of the expanding European Union - threatens their standing with fellow EU nations two days before a key EU leaders' summit.
Polish negotiator Marek Cichocki told reporters that it was still seeking a compromise, but was holding firm on its position.
"If we are not able to find a reasonable solution at the Summit then we should have more time to discuss this question during the IGC (Intergovernmental Conference)."
Ewa Osniecka-Tamecka, the Polish Minister for European Affairs, did not rule out vetoing the constitution: "Now we work on the conclusions of the Summit, of the draft. And then we will discuss it."
The original, 448-article constitution - approved by leaders in 2004 after two years of negotiations, and requiring unanimous acceptance from all EU
member nations - was meant to serve as a blueprint for how to govern the European Union, now a bloc encompassing 27 nations from western to eastern Europe.
It created new rules to streamline the way the EU is run, proposed a single "legal entity" for the bloc under international law and sought to boost the bloc's standing on the world stage by creating a new position of EU foreign minister.
But French and Dutch voters rejected the charter in 2005.
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