EU leaders have begun a tense summit aimed at drafting the outlines for a new treaty in the face of deep Polish and British misgivings.
Tough negotiations are expected to drag into the weekend, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged other leaders to find a compromise on the new treaty.
Ms Merkel, whose country's holds the EU's rotating presidency until the end of this month, faces the task of brokering a deal on the outlines of the new treaty, which will replace the draft constitution.
France and the Netherlands rejected the proposed constitution in referenda two years ago, triggering a political crisis.
Germany proposes to scrap the form of the constitution, but keep many of its key measures, such as a full-time president of the council, majority voting on more topics, a new method of voting in the European Council and an EU foreign minister - though the term foreign minister will not be used.
Germany wants this summit to agree to a tight mandate for drafting the new treaty, which will amend but not replace the existing European treaties.
That is so that countries like Britain and France can avoid the need for a referendum.
But Britain still has problems, particularly with the role of the foreign minister, while Poland has been mounting a campaign against the new voting system, which it claims gives Germany too much power, and Poland too little.
The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has said he will not accept any deal that requires a referendum.
The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, says the UK could approve a new treaty by parliament instead.
