Dear Europeans,

This past week can be seen as a historic week in European Integration. On Friday 25 October an agreement on agriculture was reached which, although we might not be too happy about the content, paved the way for the enlargement of the Union. Another important step marked the presentation by Giscard d’Estaing to the Convention plenary of a first draft for a European Constitution. After discussing the broad topics of the future of Europe debate and preparing some more detailed reports on separate issues in the working groups, the members of the Convention have now the possibility to work on the concrete text of the European Constitution.

The debates in the plenary and press conferences of Giscard d'Estaing and other presidium members of the Convention lead to a simple conclusion: it is a good starting point, but much remains to be done. The draft for the Constitution was broadly welcomed as a good working base. The draft offers the structure for a democratic, transparent, efficient and federal Union, but in order to arrive there, much has to be done. Despite some clear weaknesses, this draft provides an opportunity transform the rhetoric of recent years into a Constitution which can be a link between the citizens of the Union and their European Institutions.

In the Convention, discussion on the results of the working groups has continued. The two main topics of this weeks Convention plenary "Incorporation of the Charter / Accession to the ECHR" and "The Role of National Parliaments" are covered in the section "News from the Convention".

In a rapid reply to Giscard’s proposal, the Youth Contact Group issued a press release "Young Europeans propose the flesh to add to Giscard's skeleton". In addition, the members of the Youth Contact Group will prepare contributions to the Convention on some of the topics of the next working groups. As the decisive phase of the Convention is now begining, youth organisations will in the near future be organising many projects on these topics.

The draft for a European Constitution presented by Jo Leinen MEP can be seen as a truly federal contribution to the future of Europe debate. Further articles include an interview with Lamberto Dini and positions on the Convention from youth organisations and other NGO's.

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 17th issue is 12th November). As usual, you can see all articles of this Bulletin in full on the Constitutional Convention Homepage: www.constitional-convention.net.

Best European greetings,

Your Editors.