Citizens in first place” “

“I don’t think that the reports of the Convention’s work make entertaining reading”, yet “it seems to me important that European citizens should not lose interest in what’s happening. What is at stake in their personal future”. So says Valéry Giscard d’Estaing , president of the Convention for the future of Europe, in an interview published on the front page of “Le Monde” on 23 July. Having concluded its “listening” phase in its July session, which lasted four months, the Convention is now embarking on its “study” phase. Citizens ask for transparency and security. On 24 and 25 June the plenary session of the Convention listened in Brussels to the representatives of civil society. In response to a “European system that has become incomprehensible to the mere citizen”, what has emerged is “a great need for simplification, legibility and clarity”, points out Giscard d’Estaing. In response to globalization, civil society “asks for a more solid presence of Europe in the world to defend human values, as well as a more coherent system of security to defend it from new external threats, such as terrorism, cross-border criminality, or illegal immigration”. According to Giscard, what is felt, in particular, is “the need for the Union’s greater democratic legitimacy which will not be completely recognized by citizens so long as there does not exist an organic place of encounter between the two legitimacies of the Union itself: the legitimacy of the nation states and that of Europe”. Hence Giscard’s proposal for the creation of “a European congress” which would have no legislative powers, but which would meet periodically, bringing together “MEPs and a certain number of national MPs” for consultations on the possible evolution of the Union’s functions or its future enlargement. Civil society in dialogue with Europe. The role of civil society in the construction of Europe was at the centre of a meeting held in Rome in recent days (“Italian civil society and the European Convention”, promoted by the Forum of the Tertiary sector, the Associations of Italian NGOs and the so-called “Tavola della Pace”). During the meeting the vice-president of the Convention Giuliano Amato observed that “in Europe the conviction is spreading that foreign policy and joint security must tend to the re-establishment of social equilibria and justice in the world. But the task by which we are faced is daunting because the change of route necessary for a genuine prospect of growth and development is still far from coming”, even though “the strong pressure of civil society” may contribute to it. According to Amato, “the contribution of non-governmental organizations is indispensable in the formulation of innovative European policies. The NGOs are trustworthy partners because they have amassed a huge legacy of experience in the field of which the whole of Europe has a need”. It’s also essential – Amato insisted – “to update and redefine the ‘mission’ of the continent and, at the same time, to avoid giving rise “to a Europe of elites. Enlargement to the East – he explained – arouses anxiety and widespread insecurity in the lower social strata: what is needed is a common connecting thread, which the NGOs may help to create”. A European referendum. According to Luca Jahier of ACLI (Christian Workers Association), “the effective participation of civil society in the process of drafting a future European Constitution is disappointing; a link needs to be found between the European institutions and the networks of civil society with a view to the debate on the final document of the Convention. The great objective of reuniting Europe, and restoring the right to citizenship and prosperity to 100 million people’, involves grave responsibilities and must be founded on an informed and deeply felt consensus”. Hence the proposal to accompany the process of drafting the European Constitution now underway “with national conferences of organized civil society, to be held in all 15 member states of the EU and also in the candidate countries”; a process that the national parliaments would be invited to follow. The European Economic and Social Committee would then be given the task of drawing up a summary of the results “to be conveyed to the EU institutions, thus preparing the way for a proper European referendum in June 2004 on the most significant points in the new Treaty or Constitution”. Giovanna Pasqualin Traversa