We have reached the stage where the debate on the ratification of a Treaty establishing the Constitution for Europe is gaining momentum, irrespective of the method of ratification selected (ratification by parliament, as in Malta's case, or through a referendum).

Consequently, during its October session, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) highlighted the importance of setting out clear messages addressed to civil society organisations on the content and scope of the Constitutional Treaty.

The draft treaty has to be studied from the standpoint of its overall political importance in the context of the process launched over 50 years ago by the founding fathers of the European Communities.

The Constitutional Treaty was drafted by a Convention, most of whose members were national MPs or MEPs. This method of drawing up the Constitutional Treaty represents a step forward. The efforts to involve civil society organisations, by means of hearings and consultations and through the participation of observers selected by social partners and the EESC, marked a real step forward.

The Constitutional Treaty is based on a consensus between all the political groupings and is the fruit of a genuine democratic debate. Even though the Convention was not given constituent powers, in view of the dual nature of the EU, as a union of states and peoples, the establishment of the Convention represented a genuine break with earlier practices, which completely disregarded the representation of parliaments and civil society

A 'revolutionary' step

The Constitution provides a new framework of operation for the Union. It comprises three main parts, the first two of which represent complete innovations. Part I defines the principles and values underlying the Union; Part II sets out the fundamental rights of the citizens of the Union; and Part III defines and updates the Community policies set out in the earlier treaties.

The Constitution does not replace national constitutions but coexists alongside these constitutions. It will apply to all the territory of the EU.

The objective of the Constitutional Treaty is abundantly clear: to establish a political union on behalf of the citizens and states of Europe. The Union's ambitions focus on the principal aspirations of the citizens of the Union. The Constitutional Treaty explicitly mentions "full employment, a social market economy and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment" when listing the aims of the Union. The Union seeks to promote "economic, social, territorial cohesion and solidarity among member states" and to provide "an area of freedom, security and justice" for all its citizens.

There has been a distinct improvement in the democratic legitimacy of the decision-making process:

¤ The powers of the European Parliament as the joint legislative body have been increased. This development could help strengthen public perception of the importance of the European Parliament.

¤ The new role assigned to the national parliaments safeguards against over-regulation at EU level. The Commission is obliged to inform national parliaments of any new initiatives and the 'early warning mechanism' enables them to monitor compliance with the principle of subsidiarity.

¤ In future, the citizens can be informed of the positions adopted by their respective governments at the Council, since the latter body will be bound to act in a transparent way in its capacity as a legislative body

¤ For the first time, participatory democracy has been recognised as a principle underlying the operation of the Union and providing a vital counterpart to representative democracy

¤ By maintaining an open and regular dialogue with representatives of civil society associations, EU institutions should act in a more coherent and transparent way. By consulting the parties concerned, it should be possible, for example, to avoid nitpicking rules and rules that cannot be applied in practice.

Under the Constitutional Treaty the Commission would also be obliged to carry out a more effective assessment of the economic and social impact of it proposals including the impact at regional and local level.

¤ One of the major innovations of the Constitutional Treaty is the establishment of a right of popular initiative, provided that each request is supported by at least a million citizens coming from a significant number of member states, EU citizens may in future invite the European Commission to submit proposals for legislation which meets their aspirations.

¤ The Constitutional Treaty confirms the role played by the social partners as a key component of democratic life in the Union, while respecting the autonomy of the social dialogue

Fundamental rights

The Charter of Fundamental Rights was drawn up by a Convention whose democratic legitimacy was widely recognised. Contributions from civil society organisations played an important role in the drafting of the Charter.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights is seen as marking a step forward as it incorporates, without breaking them down into separate categories, all types of individual and collective rights: civil and political rights; and social and economic rights.

It also adopts an innovative approach by recognising more 'contemporary' civil rights linked to sustainable development, consumer protection, gender equality, bioethics, the protection of personal data, etc.

The fundamental rights of Union citizens form an integral part of the Constitutional Treaty, rather than taking the form of a preamble. The incorporation of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights into the Treaty, as demanded by a large number of European civil society organisations, is of significant importance as these rights will henceforth be legally binding

This progressive measure will in practice mean that citizens will benefit from better legal protection. They will in future be able to invoke the provisions of the Charter in any national courts when challenging decisions taken by the European institutions and by members in implementing Community law

Citizens' aspirations

Part III of the proposed Constitution therefore sets out the main provisions of the existing treaties with regard to the EU's common policies, while extending qualified majority voting to approximately 20 areas hitherto subject to unanimous voting.

Furthermore, it gives official recognition to the co-decision procedure as "ordinary legislative procedure", thereby strengthening the powers of the European Parliament.

Part III of the draft Constitution sets out the general principles underlying the areas which the EU member states have decided either to pool their resources or to co-operate. However, the content of the policies in these areas depends on the decisions taken by EU governments and by majority votes in the European Parliament and therefore reflects the will of these bodies.

Weaknesses

We should not keep quiet about the shortcomings of the Constitutional Treaty in its current form. A large number of demands of civil society could not be taken into account by the Convention and still fewer by the IGC.

Some of these weaknesses include:

¤ the lack of adequate operational provisions for implementing the principle of participatory democracy. As a result the role of the EESC was not strengthened to ensure effective civil dialogue;

¤ the lack of any requirement for mandatory consultation of the EESC on application of the non-discrimination principle, common asylum and immigration policy or culture;

¤ civil society should be consulted on the content of the European law defining procedures for implementing the right of citizen's initiative; and

¤ the principle of participatory democracy should be applied to the key EU strategies for promoting growth, employment and sustainable development.

Moreover, still within the framework of the Constitutional Treaty as it has been adopted, it is important to study how flexibility could be introduced and progress achieved without the need to revise the Treaty.

If all the member states express the political will towards enhanced co-operation between themselves, it will be possible to accelerate integration in sensitive areas where unanimity is still required, such as taxation or social policy. A 'bridging clause' allows qualified majority voting to be extended to these areas.

The national debates on the Treaty of the Constitution must not get lost in other issues. The media tend to sensationalise and therefore giving facts, launching debates where the public are invited to express their opinion is important. What's important is putting the treaty in the hands of the people!

Ms Attard, who is the president of the National Council of Women (Malta), is the representative of the 'varied interests group' of the EESC.

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