Poland to make EU reform proposals next year

WARSAW, Oct 14 (Reuters) Poland, critical of efforts to revive the European constitution, will make its own proposals on the bloc's reform next year when Germany takes over the bloc's presidency, President Lech Kaczynski said today.

Plans to give the EU a stronger leadership and a simplified voting system to cope with its enlargement to 25 and soon 27 nations were shelved last year when French and Dutch voters rejected the bloc's new constitution.

Germany, which takes over the EU's rotating 6-month presidency on January 1, is keen to revive the charter it has backed and has urged its critics to come up with proposals to break the deadlock.

Kaczynski and his ruling conservatives have criticised the draft for going too far with political integration and made clear Poland would reject it as it stands now.

But he also said it was clear the enlarged bloc needed a new set of ground rules to make it more efficient, and after a meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso promised Warsaw's input to the debate.

''I think in early 2007, probably in February or March, Poland will put forward certain proposals on what we regard as necessary for Europe,'' Kaczynski said at a joint news conference with Barroso.

He did not elaborate on Warsaw's proposals, but said the new document should make clear which decisions require a consensus and which will be subject to majority voting, and how this majority will be defined.

The conservatives have complained the charter reduced Poland's voting power compared with the current system agreed at an EU summit in Nice in 2000.

JOINT INITIATIVES The reform should also make it easier for the EU to engage in joint initiatives, including military missions such as in Congo or Lebanon, Kaczynski said, adding he backed the idea of creating a European rapid reaction force.

Ties between Warsaw and Brussels have been strained since the ruling conservatives led by Kaczynski's twin brother Jaroslaw won elections a year ago promising to defend national interests more vigorously than their leftist predecessors.

Their efforts to block a bank merger cleared by the EU, the Kaczynskis' support for the death penalty, and attempts to block several EU policy agreements raised doubts about Warsaw's commitment to EU-wide co-operation.

But Barroso, who said his visit to Warsaw served to convince Poles of the merits of EU cooperation, said he trusted Poland, which joined the EU in 2004 to become its sixth-largest member, would make a positive contribution to the bloc.

''I want to tell you that I am fully confident Poland is a very active member of the EU,'' Barroso said. ''I hope that Poland will play a very active and constructive role in finding a solution to the constitutional question.'' So far 15 countries have ratified the constitution but it needs backing of all states to come into effect and EU leaders have set an end-2008 deadline for deciding what to do with the charter.

REUTERS BDP KP1711