The CER guide to the draft EU constitution ★ EU governments have begun an ‘inter-governmental conference’ (IGC) that will result in a
constitution for the EU. A draft constitution was drawn up by the Convention on the Future of Europe, and the draft forms the basis for negotiations at the IGC. ★ The draft constitution would make several improvements to the existing institutions, making
them somewhat easier to understand and more transparent. The proposed reforms would also give the EU a more solid external representation. However, the draft does not go far enough to ensure that the Union can work smoothly with 25 or more member-states. Nor would the constitution make lines of democratic accountability much clearer. ★ At the IGC, EU governments could improve the details in the constitution text. However, they
should resist the temptation to unravel the central compromises of the draft constitution.
For the fourth time in little more than a decade, the EU is trying to overhaul its institutions and policies. The EU’s previous attempts, which culminated in the treaties of Maastricht in 1992, Amsterdam in 1997 and Nice in 2000, were less than fully successful. Citizens still perceive the EU as overly complex and bureaucratic. Decision-making procedures are too complicated, and policies are often ineffective. With ten new members set to join the Union in May 2004, the imperative for reform has become overwhelming. The European Convention, made up of government representatives, national parliamentarians, MEPs and the European Commission, prepared a draft ‘constitutional treaty’ for the EU. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the Convention’s president, presented the draft constitution to EU leaders at their summit in Thessaloniki, June 2003. The Convention’s final document now serves as the basis for discussions at the inter-governmental conference (IGC), which will work out the definitive text of the EU’s constitution.
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As it stands, the draft constitution is a carefully crafted compromise between the Convention’s ‘federalists’ and ‘inter-governmentalists’, as well as between the large and the small countries. It contains a raft of practical reform proposals. For example, the various treaties that determine the EU’s organisation and policies will be consolidated into a single constitutional treaty. The EU – currently a confusing amalgam of several legal entities – will gain a ‘single legal personality’, which will make it easier for the EU to negotiate and ratify international treaties. However, the draft constitution is less successful in ensuring that the EU becomes a more democratic and transparent organisation. The draft is a long and often confusing legal text, and the average citizen will still find the EU hard to understand. It preserves many of the EU’s complex structures and procedures, which are the result of political deals struck over the past half-century. Moreover, several governments will attempt to unravel many of the draft’s provisions in the IGC.
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