* EU trying to prevent deadlock at summit next week
* Czech leader blocks treaty, EU split on funding issue
* EU struggling to maintain influence on world stage
By Timothy Heritage
BRUSSELS, Oct 25 (Reuters) - European Union leaders hope to
reach a deal at a summit this week removing the last obstacles
to a treaty to give the bloc more global clout, but face a
battle over funding for a global climate change agreement.
Failure to break the deadlock would risk leaving the
27-country bloc looking impotent when it is trying to strengthen
its role on the world stage and the influence of emerging powers
such as China is growing following the economic crisis.
EU leaders say publicly they are hopeful of breaking the
impasse on both issues. But much depends on quiet diplomacy in
the run-up to the summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
The chances of a breakthrough over the Lisbon reform treaty
rose on Friday when Czech President Vaclav Klaus, the only EU
leader holding out against the charter, welcomed proposals by
the EU's Swedish presidency for securing his signature.
"I expect that some solution is possible, in my opinion. I'm
optimistic about the whole issue," European Parliament President
Jerzy Buzek told Reuters in an interview. []
The treaty sets out reforms to ease EU decision-making and
creates two new posts, a new long-term president and a foreign
policy chief with enhanced powers for a bloc that now represents
almost 500 million people. []
As a condition for signing, Klaus has demanded an opt-out
from a rights charter that is attached to the treaty, saying he
wants to shield the Czech Republic from property claims by
ethnic Germans expelled after World War Two. []
Diplomats say EU heads of government should now be able to
agree on a political declaration that enables Klaus to save face
but makes no changes to the Lisbon treaty. []
"I think they can find a way to give Klaus what he wants
without it really meaning anything except saving face for him,"
said Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform think tank.
Czech ratification also depends on a review by the country's
Constitutional Court, but it is widely expected to approve it,
possibly before the summit. Klaus would then be expected to sign
it and the treaty could go into force by the end of the year.
CLIMATE CHANGE DEAL
The leaders are less likely to agree at the summit on
funding for a global climate change deal that will be negotiated
at talks in Copenhagen in December, EU diplomats say.
"This will be serious because then we will have no position
on funding (for the Copenhagen talks)," a senior diplomat said.
Funding to help poor nations combat climate change is the
main obstacle to success in the talks in Copenhagen on a new
deal to combat global warming.
A draft summit statement seen by Reuters gave no precise
figure for the financial contribution the EU would make to help
the developing countries.
EU member states are also split over how much to contribute
before the new climate deal starts. Nine of the bloc's poorer
countries want the early contributions to be voluntary and EU
finance ministers gave up trying to resolve the issue last week.
The EU leaders could also discuss at the summit who will be
the new long-term EU president and foreign affairs chief, but it
is not certain they will get on to discussing names because the
Lisbon treaty creating the posts is not yet in force.
[] []
Even if the EU emerges from the summit with agreement on the
main issues, the delays over the treaty -- which has been in the
works for years -- and the divisions over climate change funding
have had an impact on the bloc's image.
"The question is does the EU have the capacity to act on
behalf of the people? And does it have the capacity to act on
the world stage?" Brady asked. "There has been so much
discussion of just little passages of text. It's sickening."
