“Such a vast and complex construction, with growing political responsibilities, cannot hold by relying on the old Treaty of Nice only. As soon as possible, this Europe must have its Constitution”. Johannes Voggenhuber, Austrian Euro-MP, is speaking about the future of the Union again. Yesterday, the Strasbourg Parliament approved a report bearing his signature and the one by an English MP, Andrew Duff. The report is about the “period of reflection” decided by the Governments of the 25 countries after the refusal of the ratification of the fundamental Paper by France and the Low Countries. In accordance with the text approved by the Parliament (385 votes in favour – 125 against – 51 abstentions), it is necessary “to achieve a constitutional solution strengthening parliamentary democracy, transparency and the legally constituted state, confirming fundamental rights, developing citizenship and strengthening the skills of the extended Union to act in an effective way, inside and outside”. The Parliament asks for an important stage of debate between politicians and citizens, starting from spring 2006, a revision of the discussions and of the opinions thus collected within 2007, and a possible rewriting of some parts of the Constitution. Then, “all the necessary efforts to secure the coming into force of the Constitution in 2009 will have to be made”. For those reasons, “we cannot think – says Voggenhuber – about new EU extensions (apart from the adhesions of Romania and Bulgaria) without having first approved the new Treaty”.
