From diplomacy to democracy” “

During the meeting of the spokespersons of the European Episcopal Conferences held at Mechelen (Belgium) in the past days, Thomas Jansen , “chef de cabinet” of the Chairman of the Economic and Social Committee of the European Union, speaking at the headquarters of COMECE (Brussels), presented a report on the Convention on the future of Europe. We give a brief résumé of it below. Composition. The Convention is a body composed of 30 representatives of the national Parliaments of the member states of the European Union (2 for each member state), 16 representatives of the European Parliament, 15 representatives of the governments of the member states (1 for each state), and 2 representatives of the European Commission. This composition associates in the process of the reform of the institutions the four levels of legitimation of which the EU consists: the national parliaments represent the citizens and peoples of the member states, the MEPs represent the citizens and population of the Union, the delegates of the governments represent the national interests and the Commission’s delegates those of the Commission. In this way the Convention enjoys broad legitimacy, which is further reinforced by the participation of the representatives of the governments of the candidate countries (2 for each country, in total 13) and of their parliaments (2 for each country, in total 26). To these we should also add thirteen observers representing the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the social partners and the European mediator. Including substitute members, the participants in the process of drafting the European Constitution within the Convention total in all 217. Mission and objectives. At the intergovernmental Conference in Nice (December 2000), the usual methods of intergovernmental diplomatic negotiation, suitable also for the process of the reform of the treaties, were shown to be inadequate for adapting the European institutions and procedures to the needs of enlargement. Hence the need for a body that would enjoy a high degree of legitimacy, comparable, in some degree, to a genuine constituent assembly. The Convention, established by the heads of state and of government of the EU during the Laeken Summit (December 2001), has that legitimacy: it has been given the mandate to treat all the questions regarding the future configuration of the Union and to guide the process “towards a Constitution for European citizens”. Organization and method of work. The Convention is working on a draft Constitution to be submitted to the intergovernmental Conference which will have the job of approving it in the form of a constitutional treaty. A Presidium composed by the president of the Convention, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, and by two vice-presidents, Giuliano Amato and Jean-Luc Dehaene, as well as by two representatives of the national parliaments, two of the governments, two of the European Parliament, two of the Commission and one of the countries of central and eastern Europe, is guiding the Convention’s work, assessing its degree of consensus and presenting draft formulations for discussion. The plenary sessions, one or two each month, are held in Brussels and are the theatre of discussion and debate. Issues of particular interest are examined in work groups. Here are some of the issues tackled by eleven work groups from October 2002 to January 2003: subsidiarity, complementary functions, fundamental laws, simplification of the legislative process, juridical personality of the Union, foreign policy and common defence, social Europe. The dialogue with civil society is ensured, among other things, by the transparency of the work, whose sessions are held in public and whose contributions and proposals are published on the Convention’s website. In recent months, moreover, various meetings have been held between the Convention and the representatives of associations and organizations of civil society.Progress of the work. The phase of consultation and general discussion, held from March to June 2002, was followed, from September 2002 to January 2003, by an analysis of specific questions within the work groups. On presenting a draft version of a preliminary text of the Constitution in late October 2002, the Presidium announced the timetable for the formulation of its various articles. At the last plenary session, the 20th (3-4 April), the Presidium presented the articles relating to Title IX (“The Union and the surrounding environment”) and Title X (“Membership of the Union). As regard this latter, the criteria of eligibility to be a member of the EU were established. The next plenary session of the Convention is scheduled for 24 and 25 April. The Presidium is now drafting the articles relating to external relations, defence, and economic and monetary policy. In the meantime, full agreement has been reached on the following key points: the new Constitution now being drafted shall replace the existing treaties; a single constitutional text shall be submitted to the intergovernmental Conference; the Charter of fundamental rights (Nice 2000) shall be an integral part of the Constitution and thus become legally binding; juridical personality shall be granted to the EU; and the legislative procedures shall be simplified. What lies ahead. The Convention will have to complete its own work in June 2003, with the presentation of the draft Constitution. In the autumn the intergovernmental Conference will meet to decide whether to approve or not the draft Constitution as presented, or in modified form. The Conference will also have to reach an agreement on the treaty by which the Constitution will come into force. The intention is that the intergovernmental Conference should conclude with a session of the European Council in December 2003, under the Italian presidency of the EU. On that occasion, the heads of state and of government could sign the constitutional treaty, 46 years after the signing in Rome of the treaties establishing the European Economic Community (EEC). This treaty would then have to be ratified by the member states in the course of 2004 and enter into force on a date still to be defined, in any case subsequent to the entry (on 1st May 2004) of the ten new member states, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta, which signed their membership treaties in Athens on 16 April; other countries are still on the waiting list as candidate countries: Romania and Bulgaria (whose membership is planned for 2007), and Turkey. The entry into force of the treaty would also be subsequent to the forthcoming European elections (June 2004) and the renewal of the European Commission (Autumn 2004). Final remarks. The work of the Convention is bedevilled by the current uncertainties linked to the international situation and the tensions it continues to cause among some member states of the EU, in contrast to the attitude that the Europeans ought to have on the matter. It will be decisive for the members of the Convention to succeed in adopting a convincing, coherent and legible text. In that case the governments would not be able to reject it, nor introduce amendments into the draft that are not underwritten by the consent of the majority of the Convention. Since most governments are represented in the Convention by their own deputy premiers or foreign ministers, it may be said that the intergovernmental Conference is already in progress, within the Convention itself. Churches of Europe. The European Churches are continuing to follow the work of the Convention with great interest. COMECE (Commission of the episcopates of the European Union), CCEE (Council of the European Episcopal Conferences) and KEK (Conference of the European Churches) stress in this regard the need to introduce a reference to Christian values into the preamble of the Constitution now being drawn up and affirm the importance of promoting or intensifying contacts with the members of the Convention and with the representatives of the governments that will participate in the intergovernmental Conference. Hence the task, to which the Episcopal Conferences and the bishops of COMECE are called, to promote at the national level relations with the representatives of the governments involved in the work of drafting the future European Constitution.