Preamble The lack of any explicit reference to Christian roots was temporarily substituted by a new formulation of paragraph 2 in which “the cultural, religious and humanistic legacies of Europe” are mentioned. Values Included among the values of the Union are “respect for the dignity and rights of man, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law”. Juridical personality In conformity with art. 6, “the Union has juridical personality”, i.e. its own legal status, for the first time in its history. Fields of jurisdiction Art. 12 assigns five exclusive fields of jurisdiction to the Union: “the rules of competition for the functioning of the internal market, monetary policy, common trade policy, customs union, conservation of biological resources of the sea”. Institutions This is the most controversial chapter: in conformity with art. 18, the Institutions of the Union are: the European Parliament, European Council, Council of Ministers, European Commission and Court of Justice. Policies and instruments The articles of Part III have still to be completed. They relate to qualified majority vote and its extension to foreign and common security policy and European policy of security and defence: the limitations of sovereignty which governments would be asked to accept in this sector are giving rise to strong opposition. Charter of rights To some surprise, the Presidium presented an amendment to the Preamble of the Constitution contained in the final draft according to which the national Courts and the EU Court of Justice shall, in their interpretation of the articles of the Charter, follow “the explanations formulated on the impulse of the Presidium of the Convention that drafted the Constitution”. The reactions were negative.
