Parliament's stand on the Constitution

Last Thursday, the European Parliament came out in support of the efforts of the German Presidency to secure a commitment from the European Council, the meeting of the EU heads of state and of government, which is to meet this month, to call an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the European Constitution.

The IGC will have the task of steering the Union clear of the muddle created when the French and the Dutch rejected the draft Constitution in separate referenda.

In January, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had proposed that the European Council should define a road map outlining the major steps to be taken in this process. The Parliament wants this road map to contain a procedure, a clear mandate and the objective of reaching an agreement before the end of this year.

The European Parliament insists that in this exercise, all the basic principles as contained in the first part of the Constitutional Treaty must be preserved, including the dual nature of the EU as a union of states and of citizens, the primacy of European law, the new typology of acts and procedures, the hierarchy of norms, and the legal personality of the EU.

The Parliament is aware that the Constitutional Treaty also brings about other important improvements in matters, such as consolidation of the existing treaties and the merging of pillars.

The Constitution expressly recognises the values on which the EU is based and the legally binding force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. It also enhances the participation of citizens in the political life of the EU, clarifies the respective competencies of the EU and of the member states, respects the principle of subsidiarity and the specific role of national parliaments in this matter, without jeopardising the institutional balance of the EU.

The Parliament wants that any proposal for modification of the Constitutional Treaty must secure the same level of support as was obtained at an earlier date by the provision it seeks to replace.

The Parliament warned that it will reject any outcome of the negotiations which, if compared with the Constitutional Treaty, would lead to a diminution of the protection of the rights of citizens (insists, in particular, on maintaining the Charter of Fundamental Rights, especially its legally binding force) as well as to less democracy, transparency and efficiency in the functioning of the Union.

Aware that a number of new issues have been raised during the period of reflection, the Parliament urged that these must not be ignored and that these issues can be properly addressed only by a stronger rather than a weaker Europe.

The Parliament wants the ratification process of the new Treaty to be concluded by the end of 2008, to allow the next Parliament, which will be elected in 2009, to start its mandate under the provisions of the new Treaty.