UK News 11-12-2000 Blair Forces EU Backdown on Tax Policy who: Tony Blair what: Wins veto over tax policy at EU summit where: Nice, France when: Last night snippet: Tony Blair will return home in victorious mood after the EU summit meeting in Nice, France, where Britain exercised its veto on key tax and social security decisions, but still reached a compromise on a new treaty, to be signed today. Italy and Belgium, backed by the European Commission, wanted to scrap the requirement for a unanimous agreement on common tax and welfare policies, reports The Independent. Mr Blair stated throughout the four day summit that he would not permit it and the Commission eventually backed down, but there remained a controversy over the veto powers of smaller nations. "Under the draft compromise," says The Telegraph, "a minority of 91 votes - equal to three big states and one small one - could block a decision. Smaller countries had tried to raise that threshold to 104, making it harder for the large states to block decisions." French President Jacques Chirac, hosting the talks, was subject to abuse from delegations from Poland, Holland and Portugal, reports The Mirror, claiming they had been "they had been stitched up in the share out of votes for EU decision-making". "It was the most explosive summit ever with smaller countries spitting blood," says the report. "The Nice talks were in chaos," says The Sun, "as 15 leaders squabbled over a timetable for admitting up to 12 new states - and failed to streamline the bloated European Commission." [... more]

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