EU foreign ministers fly to the French Riviera to sign a the Nice Treaty, which was negotiated in December amid much acrimony.
The Nice Treaty, the fourth version of the union's founding charter since the mid-1980s, contains reforms preparing the EU to take in a dozen countries, mostly from eastern Europe.
It must be ratified by the 15 EU parliaments and the European Parliament to take legal effect, probably in late 2002 at the earliest.
Its contents are seen as a minimalist step forward largely because France and Germany, long the engine of European integration, disagree fundamentally on the EU's future shape and role.
Germany, along with Italy, wants to move toward a United States of Europe with a constitution and bill of rights.
France and Britain are wary of a "European superstate," preferring a club of independent nations. The smaller members each have their own views on how to move forward.
The treaty also:
- provides for more majority voting, yet still allows national vetoes in such sensitive areas such as taxes, social security, immigration and trade in audiovisual products.
- lets the 20 member European Commission grow to 27 as newcomers join. Fear of losing a grip on EU decision-making kept the leaders from the goal of scaling back the EU executive for the sake of efficiency.
- lets countries opt out of common policies they don't like, letting more enthusiastic nations move ahead on their own.
- raises to 732 the number of European Parliament members, up from 626.
The treaty also sets the EU on the path to yet another round of treaty reforms to be completed by 2004. On the table will be the bill of rights, ideas to define forever the powers of the EU which over the years has increasingly eroded national sovereignty and a bid to simplify the EU treaty.
AP