As the political debate about last weekend's Nice summit turns to the longer-term implications of the agreement, further details have emerged about the proposals contained in the treaty itself. Here we take a brief look at what the treaty means for the EU.

Vote "weighting" - Council of the European Union: Large relative increases in votes and a demographic element entrench the power-base of the "big four" countries - Germany, the UK, France and Italy.

The council currently has 87 votes - which after enlargement increases to 342. A qualified majority will be achieved post-enlargement with at least 255 votes (74 per cent) - accounting for at least 62 per cent of the EU's population.

As a percentage of the total votes the proportion of the "big four" has declined under the new system but their votes have tripled from 10 to 29 in relative terms while other countries, like Belgium, have only doubled from five to 12.

The "demographic bar" is crucial. When the size of population is taken into account the "big four's" power in the council is secure - with 54 percent of an enlarged EU's population. In a post-Nice EU even if every country voted against the "big four" they could only muster 67 per cent of the vote and 46 per cent of the population, well short of a majority. Germany now has the greatest clout with its 29 votes and a population of 82 million compared to the UK, Italy and France's populations of under 60 million.

Raised vetoes and extended Qualified Majority Voting: QMV has been extended to 39 areas where national vetoes previously held sway - though in at least 10 of these areas the UK can "opt out" if it disagrees with the majority decision.

Key areas where QMV was extended: various EU administrative matters - including pay and conditions for MEPs, rules and pay for the European Court of Justice and Court of Auditors, financial controls, appointments to all EU foreign policy jobs, appointments to various EU institutions including of the secretary general and deputy secretary of the EU's council of ministers; international trade agreements, covering financial services; external EU border control and some visa rules - still subject to opt-out; freedom of movement for non-EU nationals in the EU - still subject to opt-out; asylum and immigration procedures including the treatment of illegal immigrants - still subject to vetoes; judicial cooperation in civil cases - still subject to opt out; cooperation between home affairs and justice ministries; technical measures to speed up introduction of the euro; social security provisions to fight social exclusion and modernise social welfare; aid for EU industry; structural and cohesion funds; disaster and emergency aid; financial and technical cooperation with non-EU states and EU relations with former French colonies.

European commission: Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain to lose their allocation of two commissioners. After 2005 the commission size - currently 20 commissioners - will be held at somewhere under 27 and rotated among the enlarged EU's 27 member states. Each commission serves a five-year term. The commission could now become eclipsed by the council in a new EU that gives power to a core group of nations.

Increased cooperation: Countries will be able to opt-out of some policies whereas others can work together, as long as the cooperation does not affect the operation of the single market or involve defence initiatives.

European parliament: The number of MEPs is increased to 738 - from 626 - with the "big four" holding a 43 per cent minority. MEPs are unlikely to be overly enthusiastic about the Nice treaty but cannot block it when it comes up for ratification next spring. However, both Italy and Belgium have said that they will take account of its views.

The future for Europe: The European Council will hold another council in 2004 to take up the "constitutional" issues of the new Europe. The charter of fundamental rights is set to become a key issue in the debate. Some commentators are talking on a new consensus on Europe way from a centralised or federalist outlook with the UK and Germany increasingly agreeing on many of the issues dealing with the EU's relationship to the nation state.