Germany could offer delay in EU vote reform-sources

LUXEMBOURG, June 18 (Reuters) ith three days to go to a crucial summit on reforming the European Union, diplomats say EU president Germany could offer Poland a delay in introducing a new voting system as a last-minute gambit to clinch a deal.

But it is by no means certain that Poland's ruling Kaczynski brothers, who nurture a deep historical suspicion of Germany, would accept.

''If I were the Germans, I would offer to postpone the switch for a couple of years, say to 2011, and accept 2013 at the very end as a compromise,'' one diplomat involved in the negotiations said, stressing he had no inside knowledge of German intentions.

Two other senior EU diplomats said such an offer, combined with a mechanism enabling minorities of member states to force further deliberation before the EU takes a decision, may be Germany's best chance of averting a Polish veto.

But they said any such offer would only be made in the final hours of the summit set for Thursday and Friday.

Warsaw has fought to reopen a reform of the 27-nation bloc's voting system agreed in 2004, which it says favours big states, especially Germany, at Poland's expense.

No other country except the Czech Republic - half-heartedly - backs the Poles.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has firmly resisted any attempt to go back on the so-called double majority system, under which most decisions would require 55 per cent of member states representing 65 per cent of the EU population to pass.

Germany ignored the Polish demand in a report circulated to EU foreign ministers before Sunday's meeting, while working patiently to resolve problems for other countries such as Britain and the Netherlands.

THREE OPTIONS Several diplomats said Germany had three options to try to win over the Poles without conceding on substance.

It could look to compensate Poland on other issues such as more seats in the European parliament or assurances about energy security, but diplomats said Warsaw had brushed these aside.

It could offer a new mechanism enabling minorities of states that do not have enough votes to block a decision to force a renewed deliberation for a period in the search for consensus, but many delegations feared this would be too complex and hamper efficient decision-making.

Such a possibility was first created in 1994 under what is known as the Ioanina Compromise, and diplomats said French President Nicolas Sarkozy took the idea of strengthening the formula to Warsaw last week.

Germany's last card could be to offer a limited postponement of the new voting system, due to enter into force in 2009.

Insiders fear other countries would then demand that the whole institutional reform package would be delayed in that case.

But if the choice is between a total breakdown at 3 am on Saturday morning that could set the EU back years in political self-confidence and institutional efficiency, or a couple of years' delay with the certainty that the new system would then take effect, the smart money is on a delay.

Reuters JK VV1509