Former French president Mr Valery Giscard d'Estaing has scaled back his proposals on reforming the European Union after they drew condemnation from smaller member states.
The European Commission and members of the European Parliament also welcomed the scrapping of the suggestions by Mr Giscard, who is the chairman of the convention writing an EU constitution.
On Tuesday, Mr Giscard proposals that included a full-time president, to replace the current widely criticised system of a rotating leadership, as well as an EU foreign minister.
In other, less-expected, suggestions, he also proposed the creation of a vice-president, as well as a co-ordinating bureau and a separate new body called a congress. Under the plans the commission, the EU's executive arm, would be slashed in size from 20 to 13 members.
The proposals drew widespread attacks, ranging from a commission warning of "institutional fragmentation" to one MEP's view that they were "a slap in the face for European democracy".
The plans were radically amended in lengthy talks in Mr Giscard's 13-member committee that went late into last night, ahead of a new plenary session of the 105-member convention today.
The final version of the proposals made no reference to a vice-president, or the congress or bureau, which critics said would have amounted to a parallel executive alongside the commission. The commission would consist of its president and up to 14 members under the new plan.
But there remained deep disquiet over proposals to give the European Union a permanent president - a development seen by smaller states as a power grab by their bigger cousins.
The convention, which started its work last year, is now entering the final straight before its target of presenting a draft EU constitution to a leaders' summit in Greece in June. AFP