| Poland pushes back against German pressure to okay the EU constitution. |
Under the chairmanship of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the 27 EU countries launched an attempt to hammer out a consensus on a "reform treaty" to replace the defunct European constitution.
Earlier, Downing Street said Mr Blair was ready to walk away from the summit and see it collapse if his four central demands were not met. However, Ms Merkel views Poland, rather than Britain, as the main opponent of a deal and the hardest nut to crack
"If Poland had not had to live through the years 1939-45, Poland would be today looking at the demographics of a country of 66 million", rather than 38 million, and would warrant a much higher quota of votes in the EU, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the prime minister, told Polish radio.
| If Gaul had not had to live through the time of 59 - 51 BC, modern France would have several ten million more Gaul-speakers today. |
| At least one Brit columnist is applauding the Poles on this one. |