The European Parliament on Thursday recommended to European Union governments that the size of the assembly be capped at 750 members. The plan would reduce the seat allotment of 17 of the 27 EU nations _ a plan Italy rejects because it would lose parity with Britain and France, REPORTED AP. The proposal to redistribute seats among EU nations will be discussed at next week's summit of EU leaders in Lisbon, Portugal, as part of a debate on a new EU treaty. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said that his country would not bloc the treaty over the parliament reform plan, but that it may push for the issue of seats to be discussed only after the text _ meant to replace the EU's ill-fated constitution _ is ratified by all 27 member states. EU leaders want to reach a deal on the treaty in Lisbon and formally sign it at a summit in Brussels in December. The redistribution of parliamentary seats is one of the last unresolved issues. The draft treaty sets the maximum number of EU parliamentarians at 750, down from 785, as of the next European elections in 2009. The plan adopted by the EU assembly would see Italy lose six seats, Britain five and France four. Italy says this is disproportionate. Diplomats said Italy may demand the EU can revert to an earlier plan under which the EU assembly shrinks to 736 members and France, population 62.9 million, Britain, population 60.4 million, and Italy, population 58.8 million, all lose the same number of seats. Currently Italy, France and Britain all have 78 seats. Germany has the largest number of members _ 99 _ and its allotment would shrink to 96, the maximum number of seats allowed for a single country under the plan to be discussed in Lisbon. The new EU treaty will amend the current household rules _ the 2003 Nice Treaty _ governing the EU.
