F-B-F.org -

Any of the 15 member states or the 10 countries due to join the EU in May can veto an agreement, and a host of objections has been raised.Yesterday’s paper, designed as a basis for the weekend discussions, ducked many of the central questions of the negotiations, which will be left for heads of government to consider in Brussels.These include proposals, opposed by Spain and Poland, to change the voting system from the one agreed in Nice three years ago. But the idea is likely to win the backing of supporters of European integration, including Germany and the Benelux countries.EU foreign ministers go to Naples this weekend for the penultimate set of talks before their heads of government are due to finalise the draft constitution at a summit starting in Brussels on 12 December.Most of the constitution was agreed by a convention chaired by the former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing, but national governments have the final say. Israel currently benefits from a low tariff regime with the EU, a benefit Brussels refuses to extend to products that originate from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.. A plan to end the national veto on European foreign policy was tabled yesterday, raising the stakes before crucial weekend talks on a new European Union constitution. But Thomas Dawson, director of the IMF’s external relations department, said earlier this year that the fund “does not monitor or control every item in the budget”, adding: “This obviously is an auditing function that goes far beyond the fund’s present mandate.” Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian Finance Minister, admitted the system was open to corruption.* EU diplomats will travel to Israel in the coming weeks in an attempt to resolve a dispute about the origin of “Israeli” products.

At that point Olaf, the EU’s anti-fraud office, launched an investigation into the allegations.Officials in Brussels admit they cannot account for every penny spent by the authority, but say there is no evidence of significant malpractice. Mr Patten, who sees the Palestinian Authority as a key interlocutor, believes it is crucial to continue backing it.He argued that the EU’s funding arrangements were supervised by the International Monetary Fund. Discovering where any misplaced EU funds may have gone, is likely to prove difficult as there is no centralised organisation.In February this year almost one quarter of MEPs expressed their concern at the lack of accountability over the commission’s funds, amid claims that it may have been siphoned to terrorist supporters. They were originally linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction although Israeli claims that he directed their military campaign have never been proved.Under the weight of Israeli military closures on Palestinian cities, the Al-Aqsa Brigades have fragmented into autonomous local cells without a unified leadership. They are also examining the transfer of large sums of cash and credit card transactions for signs of possible fraud, although the inquiry is said to be complex and slow-moving.The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades came into being at the beginning of the three year old Intifada. But he added: “The Commission is the first organisation to be interested in making sure that its funds intended for non-governmental organisations, are not diverted to entities on the EU’s terrorist list.”The probe, which was first reported in the German magazine Stern, is one of several being conducted by the Belgian authorities into the funding of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.

And there are concerns that international aid for the Palestinians is replacing spending that Israel, the occupying power, is obliged to finance under the Geneva Conventions.Last night a spokesman for the European commissioner for external relations, Chris Patten, said it was impossible to comment on the latest issue without more details of the case. The funds are also for the Palestinian Authority which is the main employer and economic mainstay in the occupied territories.However donor governments are facing demands for funds for Iraq. Al-Aqsa is on the EU’s list of banned terrorist organisations.Confirmation that a formal investigation is going ahead is acutely sensitive for the European Commission, which pays subsidies to the Palestinian Authority of around €10m (£7m) a month. Worries have been growing for some time that EU aid has been diverted to groups engaged in terrorism or pocketed by corrupt Palestinian officials.With the Palestinian economy in freefall, the International Monetary Fund is appealing for £700m for 3.2m Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Michelin’s latest Red Guide awards new stars to 23 restaurants in Germany and Austria, but 14 starred establishments listed in the 2003 edition have since closed By contrast Mr Dahlinger’s Eichhalde appears to be booming.. European Union funds may have been channelled to Palestinian militant groups responsible for the deaths of scores of people in suicide bombings.

Dishes such as turbot and pat?e foie gras were replaced with trout and home-made liver pat?Also out are expensive French wines, amuse gueule snacks and petit fours. Mr Dahlinger said his business had increased profits by about 28 per cent and cut costs by about 10 per cent since he rejected the award and instituted a cost-cutting programme Out went the luxuries Michelin restaurant goers expect. “It was costing me a fortune to keep up with Michelin’s standards and there were not enough customers who were willing to pay the prices I had to charge,” he said. “I was losing lots of money so I told them to take back their star,” Mr Dahlinger told The Independent. “They were pretty annoyed about it.” His decision flew in the face of conventional gastronomic wisdom. Hans-Peter Wodarz, a Michelin starholder chef, recently described the experience of losing the award as “close to castration” in Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine But Mr Dahlinger said the award had become a burden. But on Monday, when Michelin’s new German 2004 Red Guide appeared in bookshops, the Eichhalde was omitted.