24.07.08: "Enhanced Co-operation" mechanism likely to be used...

Nine EU states are getting ready to reinforce their legal co-operation at the EU level by agreeing a common divorce law, by-passing Sweden's veto and posing questions about a "two-speed Europe."

France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Luxembourg and Romania are set to implement the so-called enhanced co-operation procedure, while other countries - including Germany, Belgium, Portugal and Lithuania - are also currently considering joining the initiative, according to the AFP news agency.

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If the nine countries go ahead, it will be the first time the legal mechanism - allowing a minimum of eight EU states to present the European Commission with a demand for "enhanced co-operation" - will have been activated.

Provided that the commission accepts the move, it then has to be approved by a qualified majority of the bloc's 27 member states.

Enhanced co-operation is seen as one of the ways to avoid EU-wide paralysis, which may increasingly come into play if the EU fails to quickly overcome the Irish No vote and implement the new Lisbon treaty.

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