Nerd porn / Brussels of the West

The negotiations weren't going well. We had managed, with much discussion, to address the first item on the agenda, and agreed upon a High Representative for Foreign Relations with as-yet-undecided purview that was explicitly neither a minister nor authorized to create policy but 'merely' implement. The symbols and name 'Constitution' were long gone (agenda item 2) and we were left with the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights. The UK was stalling--it would override aspects of their anglo-saxon legal tradition, and enforce the right to strike--and Poland should have been, but wasn't quite with it. A compromise was negotiated, proposed by the UK, allowing them time to implement, or not, with recourse to the ECJ. They had no intention of implementing, but with the next regime in the UK, anything was possible. And then Romania vetoed, with Poland. Someone was able to talk them around to withdrawing their objection to the compromise, but then Belgium, upset at the compromises 'forced' by the UK, vetoed, and refused to withdraw. An hour and a half wasted.

Next item: voting. Poland, of course, made a confusing presentation on the Penrose system, a mathematical formula which would have favored Poland and other mid-sized states such as Spain against larger states such as Germany, but only the Czech Republic actually was in support, though not to the extent they would veto. The rest of us went back and forth on aspects of Qualified Majority Voting or Double Majority Voting, or the status quo; the proposed revisions would favor smaller states and was more "equitable". Poland is talked around, and Luxembourg proposes an amendment designed to safeguard the smaller states, and everyone is happy. Until Spain vetoes, because someone told her it would benefit Spain to follow Poland--which it would, but that was against Spain's actual position--but ostensibly because Belgium had killed the Human Rights Charter.

Time is running short. Belgium is convinced to withdraw her veto, whereupon Spain withdraws hers--and Malta threatens to veto if his provision for electing the council President (actually the following agenda topic but not the one up for debate) by QMV and not consensus. He was convinced to withdraw, if we would support him on that discussion when that agenda item came up--and the Czech Republic vetoed, agaist stated actual policy.

With an amendment providing for delayed implementation and a mandatory review, she was convinced to buckle, and in the end, everything got taken care of. If the real world is anything like this, I'm very scared.