"EU's big winners and small losers
By George Parker and Ian Bickerton
Published: May 23 2005 19:49 | Last updated: May 23 2005 19:49
One would never have guessed it from the angst-ridden debate in France about its declining influence in Europe, but the new EU constitution actually gives it more power in the club of 25.
If that point has sometimes been drowned out in France ahead of Sunday's referendum, it has not been lost in the Netherlands, where No campaigners have focused on the danger of big countries running the EU.
'Countries with many inhabitants will have an even bigger say in the council of ministers at the expense of smaller countries like the Netherlands,' says Geert Wilders, a rightwing Dutch MP.
Mr Wilders reminds voters in the Dutch referendum on June 1 that one such large country could one day be Turkey, predicted to be the most populous member of the EU by the time it eventually joins. "
More:FT.com / World - EU's big winners and small losers
