Greater clarity about the values and objectives of the Union; increased transparency about the rights of citizens; reinforcement of the democratic system in the EU: these are just some of the favourable points that the Parliament in Strasbourg intends to recommend to the citizens and governments of the 25 member countries, through a resolution prepared by its Constitutional Affairs Committee, which should be voted on Wednesday 12 January, subject to possible changes in the order of the day resulting from the humanitarian emergency in South-East Asia, which has already substantially modified the agenda of the EP’s first session of the year. The Resolution consists of two parts: one “written in a language accessible to the public at large say European Parliament sources -, which has the task of explaining to European citizens the advantages of the Constitution”. This is followed by the “motivation”, a “far longer document that analyses these innovations in detail”. The vote on the Treaty will in any case be “an historic moment for the European Parliament”. In fact, explained the rapporteurs, Spanish People’s Party exponent Íñigo Méndez de Vigo and English Labourite Richard Corbett, “for a quarter of a century MEPs have been calling for a consolidation of the constitutional bases of the Union, simpler and more democratic decision-making procedures and a clearer definition of the rights of citizens”. The document now being examined by the EP declares that the Constitution “represents globally a good compromise, considerably improves the existing Treaties and, once in force, will bring visible benefits” to the EU as a whole. The Resolution re-affirms “economic, social and territorial cohesion as an objective of the EU” and announces that new provisions are being planned, aimed at achieving “a high level of employment, the promotion of social justice and protection, the elimination of all types of discrimination, the promotion of equality between men and women, the protection of consumers and the promotion of sustainable development”. Lastly the document hopes that the ratification process may be completed within “the first half of 2006”, so that the Constitution may enter into force on 1st November of the same year.
