Draft will not be unravelled, says constitution chief

Date: 03/07/03

By Martin Banks

VALERY Giscard d'Estaing says he is convinced EU member states will not "unravel" the draft constitution drawn up by the Convention on Europe's future.

Giscard, who chaired the Convention, told a video conference in Brussels that the 105-member forum had "looked at every possibility" of EU reform and had produced what he believes is the only "practical" compromise.

Referring to the intergovernmental conference (IGC) set to examine the text in the autumn with a view to adopting a final draft, the former French president said he did not share the fears of some who think member states will attempt to water down his proposals.

Moreover, he warned, the public would be "very disappointed" if the Convention's text was undone.

Giscard said he accepted that some unanswered questions still remained for the IGC to deal with. However, he pointed out that the compromise reached within the Convention represented the maximum of progress that can be achieved in the EU today "without breaking the unity of the system".

"If I was a betting man, I would say the chances of the draft being unravelled are two to one against."

Giscard was speaking last Thursday (26 June) at a video conference in Brussels, organized by Friends of Europe.

The five-day conference, the first of its kind, featured a total of 14 hours of live debate involving 100 speakers and thousands of participants in the EU's 15 member states, ten accession countries, plus Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

It was also broadcast on the internet.