European Union leaders convened in Lisbon yesterday in a bid to approve in finality the EU's so-called Reform Treaty, hammered out last June after a series of intense negotiations at the last EU formal summit.

The primary issue for Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who is attending the two-day informal summit, will be securing Malta's sixth European Parliamentary seat, which was confirmed in the draft treaty last June, as well as having been endorsed by the European Parliament recently.

Speaking yesterday just after a preliminary summit of the European Peoples' Party, Dr Gonzi was upbeat yet cautious before EU leaders were due to begin negotiations.

“Malta’s position is very clear,” he commented, “in that the package agreed to in June, which established a minimum of six parliamentary seats for each member state, should be adhered to.”

One major sticking point, however, could emerge from Italian negotiators, irked over the prospect the country could lose six European parliamentary seats as a result of the treaty’s provisions.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi was recently quoted in the Italian press as having disparaged the fact that Malta, despite its small population, would be gaining a seat.

While negotiations were beginning in earnest yesterday evening, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo, also present for the summit, confirmed Dr Gonzi had held a “positive” discussion with Mr Prodi during which the air had been cleared.

If adopted, the Reform Treaty would be formally signed off at the next formal EU Summit in December.

The redistribution of MEP seats in the European Parliament has proved to be a matter of contention, with 17 of the 27 EU member states pegged to lose parliamentary seats.

The overall number of Europe’s parliamentarians is set to drop from the current 785 to 750 for the next MEP elections scheduled for June 2009.

Malta, on the other hand, would increase its allocation from five to six EU parliamentarians given that the new treaty sets a minimum of six MEPs per member state.

Italy, meanwhile, would lose six of its current 78 seats and as such surrender its coveted parity with the UK and France at the parliament’s houses in Brussels and Strasbourg.

Italy is expected to vehemently oppose any such move. On Wednesday Mr Prodi threatened to veto the treaty should it include the MEP seat redistribution plan.

He has also suggested the possibility of seeking an agreement on the bulk of the 50-article charter, while leaving the issue of parliamentary seat distribution for future discussions.

Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado said yesterday that Portuguese Prime Minister and current EU President Jose Socrates would present possible compromise ideas to Italy and others at the summit, which h is due to wrap up this afternoon.

Similarly problematic is the issue of Poland losing out on voting clout at EU Council level.

Last June Poland, which goes to the polls in a general election on Sunday, very nearly dashed the hope of striking a treaty deal. Member states however reached an 11th hour placating compromise that would see the largest of the EU10 member states retaining its voting weight, albeit disproportionate to its population, until 2014 with a transitional period until 2017.

After that, EU decisions would be taken through a double majority system, which would require the approval of at least 55 per cent of member states representing at least 65 per cent of the EU’s population of 490 million.

While the redistribution of MEPs seats and the council vote weighting system rank high on the EU’s agenda, the treaty is rife with measures aimed at ensuring the smooth working of the union in the face its sheer size, which had grown from 15 to 27 in the space of a little over two and a half years.

Coupled with the bid to shrink the size of the European parliament is another intention to reduce the size of the EU Commission from 27 to 17 commissioners, which would rotate between member states for five-year terms.

The Reform Treaty is intended to replace the failed bid to establish a European Constitution, which fell through in 2005 after Dutch and French national referenda nixed the notion.

The new charter being drafted by EU leaders essentially represents a scaled down version of the constitution and has dropped a number of symbolic initiatives such as the establishment of an EU flag and anthem, which many feared would have contributed toward the emergence of an EU super state.

If approved, the Reform Treaty will need to be ratified by all 27 EU parliaments, and further risky referenda will not be required, with the exception of Ireland.

The new treaty also provides a Bill of fundamental rights in areas such as freedom of speech and religion, as well as rights to shelter, education, collective labour bargaining and fair working conditions.

The rights would be legally binding across the EU with the exceptions of the UK and Poland, which insisted upon and received opt-outs.

The treaty also aims to eliminate vetoes by single states, by replacing the unanimity requirement with majority voting in areas including police and judicial cooperation as well as economic policy and education.

The UK and Ireland are both to receive opt-outs in the above areas, while unanimity would still be required for the areas of defence and foreign policy, taxation, social security and culture.

The European Parliament and national assemblies will also be given more say in the EU’s decision-making process, thereby strengthening the EU’s democratic credentials.

The treaty would additionally establish an EU president who would be chosen by EU leaders for a five-year stint. The president would preside over EU summits and represent the EU abroad – replacing today’s system in which EU leaders rotate the post every six months.

The treaty, moreover, creates an “EU foreign minister” in all but name, which would see the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy – a post currently occupied by Spaniard Javier Solana – have a seat on the EU’s executive arm and be given control of Europe’s multi-billion euro aid budget and its far-reaching network of diplomats and civil servants.

Other last-minute problems that could cast a shadow over a potential deal include a linguistic dispute launched by Bulgaria over the spelling of the word “euro” in the Cyrillic alphabet, and Austria’s request that the treaty include a cap on foreign students it takes in.

Ratification by the EU’s 27 parliaments will, however, be essential by the next MEP elections scheduled for June 2009. The Maltese parliament had already ratified the now defunct EU constitution, but will nevertheless need to ratify the Reform Treaty should it be signed off in December.