Although their has been no meeting of the convention plenary since we send out the last edition of the bulletin, there is much to report concerning the debate on the future of Europe. Following Germany appointment of Joschka Fischer, the French too have replaced their government representative. The new French Convention member is Dominique de Villepin, Foreign Minister. This shows that the governments have started taking the convention more seriously and are sending their most important representatives to take care of the work in the convention.

A restart of the German-French motor is another indicator for an acceleration of the debates within the convention. A week ago, the German and the French Governments presented a common position on the European Security and Foreign Policy. This paper could mark a turning point in the discussions in this area which have been blocked for a long time.

The new Convention contribution from the European Commission - especially focusing on institutional issues - will be presented to the Convention and the European Parliament on 5th December. This paper will most likely add new momentum to the debate on institutional issues, which will take place in the next plenary meetings.

Following the pressure of several NGOs and thanks to the support of many convention members, a new working group "Social Europe" has been established. Under the chairmanship of Mr. Giorgios Katiforis this group will discuss various issues such as the values the Union will be based on, the social objectives, competences in social policy and the link between economic and social policy. The full mandate of this group is part of this bulletin.

Lately there has been an increased public discussion on issues that have been raised in the convention. The future relations between the EU and Turkey, the role of religion in the Constitution and the future of Common Foreign and Security Policy are only a few of them. We want to contribute to these debates by publishing this bulletin. Further articles in this bulletin are three new constitutional proposals and a list of new events organised by young people on the convention.

If you would like to contribute to the next edition of the bulletin, send your contribution to mailto:info@constitutional-convention.net (deadline for the 19th issue is 10th December). As usual, you can see all articles of this Bulletin in full length on the Constitutional Convention Homepage: http://www.constitional-convention.net/

European greetings,

Your Editors.