German EPP members unveil draft constitution

Date: 12/09/02

GERMAN centre-right MEPs have drafted a constitutional treaty which they will be presenting to the European Convention. It calls for:

• A stronger role for the president of the European Commission;
• All meetings of the Council of Ministers to be held in public;
• Abolition of EU jargon such as directives and regulations, and;
• The Commission president to be directly elected by MEPs.

The position paper also calls for the merging of the roles of EU High Representative and External Relations Commissioner to create a new, more powerful foreign relations commissioner.

The draft treaty was drawn up by Rupert Scholz, a former defence minister and constitutional expert, in conjunction with former Belgian Prime Minister Wilfried Martens and MEP Elmar Brok, chairman of the seven-strong EPP group on the Convention.

Brok, also chairman of the Parliament's foreign affairs committee, said that while the text had been drafted by legal experts it has been 'modified' by the Convention members.

The paper will not be immediately submitted to the future of Europe forum. 'We want other political groups to produce their own contributions,' said Brok.

Andrew Duff, chairman of the Liberals in the Parliament, will unveil his draft constitution for a federal union when the Convention meets today.

He said: 'In terms of clarity, coherence and simplicity it is streaks ahead of the existing jumble of EU treaties.'

Convention chairman Valéry Giscard d'Estaing hopes to draw up a draft constitution by the autumn.

German centre-right MEPs have drafted a constitutional treaty which they will be presenting to the European Convention.