On Saturday, French president, Jacques Chirac, continued his pre-Nice tour of EU member states with a visit to Germany and the Netherlands, hot on the heels of his trip to Italy on Friday and Thursday's "bistro diplomacy" in Durham. The pressure is on the French presidency just days before the Inter-Governmental Conference commences next week.

Commission president, Romano Prodi, has warned that the summit faces no more than a 50/50 chance of success as member states appear to be log jammed over the extension of majority voting and the retention of national vetoes. The commission and presidency want to see the veto go in 50 areas but Chirac's visit to the UK saw Blair draw "red lines" around taxation, social security and more. Brussels and Paris may see only 15 of the 50 vetoes raised, although compromise on reform of the commission and vote-weighting at the EU council seems to be assured.

Chirac's Saturday meeting with German chancellor Gerhard Schroder was dominated by a Franco-German rift over vote-weighting. Germany wants more clout reflecting the fact that it is up to a third more populous than the other "big" member states. The meeting ended with the matter unresolved, with German chancellor saying, "We have agreed that we will agree."

As French foreign minister, Hubert Vedrine, brands his German counterpart, Joschka Fischer, a "pied piper" whose federalist tunes could lead to cruel disappointments, Italy join Germany in seeking a fresh round of EU constitutional settlements after Nice. In something of an understatement, Jacques Chirac has said that Europe's leaders face "complex negotiations" in the days ahead. On Friday, Europe minister, Keith Vaz, looked ahead to a "tough" summit with "two or even three" sleepless nights in store.

The final IGC ministerial conclave takes place in Brussels on Sunday. Foreign secretary, Robin Cook, represents the UK government. Reports indicate that the UK is prepared to give up 17 vetoes, none are likely to be in particularly controversial areas, as pre-negotiation speeches by UK ministers suggest a growing confidence over the European issue.

There are over 700 treaty articles with national vetoes applying for less than 100. Eight five per cent of the EU's decisions are already taken by qualified majority voting including significant areas such as competition, trade and agriculture.