| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen |
|---|---|
| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning |
| Series Title | In Focus |
| Series Details | 29.10.02 |
| Publication Date | 29/10/2002 |
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus |
|
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the President of the Convention on the Future of Europe, unveiled the preliminary draft of a constitutional treaty at the Convention's plenary session on 28 October 2002 with suggestions for a new EU President, greater co-operation between nation states and dual European and national citizenship for all Europeans. Outlining a vision of the future architecture of the European Union exactly eight months after the inaugural session of the Convention, D'Estaing said that despite criticism that the debate had occasionally been too general and occasionally too technical, it had all been necessary to define the parameters of the project. He went on to add:
The proposed treaty is divided into three parts and a preamble with a total of 46 articles. The first part tackles fundamental rights, EU powers and institutions, democratic government, finances and representation in the world outside. It opens by suggesting possible names for the future European Union, which include European Community, European Union, United States of Europe, United Europe. D'Estaing is believed to favour the latter. Article 1 goes on to suggest that certain common competences should be administered 'on a federal basis' - providing the strongest suggestion yet that any future European Union would be based on federal principles. The first part also lays out the general objectives of a future European Union as:
It also proposes a single legal personality and a merging of the pillar structure so that justice and home affairs and common foreign and security policy would appear in the same treaty. An 'exit clause' would also be included to allow for the voluntary withdrawal from the Union by decision of a Member State withdrawal. As regards the institutions, a method for choosing European Commission and Council Presidents would have to be decided and a new institution to be known as a Congress of the Peoples of Europe would be established. This body would be made of European Parliament members and national MPs and its role would be to oversee the strategic direction of the EU. A further controversial proposal concerns the financing of the EU with the proposal that the 'Union budget is fully financed by own resources' suggesting that direct European taxation may be introduced in the future. Part two of the draft treaty deals with EU policies, addressing issues such as economic policy, the free movement of goods and people and competition rules. For each policy area, the type of competence will be specified as will the acts and procedures to be applied. The final part of the treaty deals with the legal issues such as the duration of the treaty, the procedure for the ratification, entry into force and revision of it as well as the repeal of previous treaties. Whilst D'Estaing may have been mocked for comparing his task to that of the Founding Fathers who drew up the US constitution he has at least provided the skeleton outline for a new EU constitution, which will undoubtedly further stimulate the debate on the future of Europe. In the coming months the differences in opinions in the Member States will be made even clearer as the Working Groups of the Convention seek to add some substance to the skeleton but it is already apparent that the smaller Member States have different ambitions to the larger countries. Whilst seven to eight small states are believed to oppose the creation of a Congress of the Peoples of Europe, favouring instead a stronger European Commission, France and Spain are strongly in favour of the new body and along with Britain are keen to see the majority of power rest with the EU council, which would be endowed with a new EU president driving the political agenda. With such differences to thrash out, the real test will come over the next few months. The next draft version, which will incorporate the ideas of the Working Groups, is expected at the start of 2003 with the final proposal due to be ready for the final European Council of the Greek Presidency in June 2003. Meanwhile, the French President Jacques Chirac has announced that France and Germany will present joint proposals on the future of the EU in January 2003. An Intergovernmental Conference will be convened in 2003 or 2004 to decide on the revision of the treaties on the basis of the Convention's proposals. While many EU officials are hoping that the new constitution could be finally approved under the Italian Presidency at the Rome Summit in December 2003, in time for the planned enlargement in 2004, such a tight schedule looks, at this stage, rather ambitious. Helen Bower Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the President of the Convention on the Future of Europe, unveiled the preliminary draft of a constitutional treaty at the Convention's plenary session on 28 October 2002 with suggestions for a new EU President, greater co-operation between nation states and dual European and national citizenship for all Europeans. |
|
| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
