Dear Europeans,

The Convention on the future of Europe has now produced the draft articles for two thirds of the new Constitution. The first sixteen articles drew more than 1000 amendments, and it is certain that there will be many more submitted on the second set of articles, released two weeks ago. However, the real negotiations on the details are now starting. At the so-called “informal” plenary session of 5 March, Convention members began the difficult task of trying to find concrete agreements on the texts. These extra plenaries are essential if the Convention is to manage to stick to its original timetable of finishing its work before the summer.

Articles 16-32, which deal with the legal instruments of the Union, will be discussed at the next plenary session of 17-18 March. While these articles reduce and simplify the number of Union legal instruments, they still fall a long way short of the goal of making them more understandable to the citizen. Still, it will still be several more weeks before the draft articles dealing with the really crucial questions relating to the institutions are released. These final articles are expected to be published on 3 April, and only then will it be possible to have an overall picture of the Constitution as proposed by the Presidium, and to start the real work of negotiating a final agreement.

The Convention timetable is still open to dispute. Some Convention members have questioned whether it will be possible to complete the work before the summer break. Several representatives from the new member states, including this week’s interview Peter Balazs, have called for the IGC to take place only after they have become full member states, with full voting rights. Citing the Laeken Declaration, they have argued that the new member states should be equal participants in the entire Convention process in order to maintain the support of their citizens. As the Convention’s work progresses, this is likely to be a subject which will recur.

It is clear that the Convention is entering a crucial stage. Many of the crucial issues have already been put on the table and are subject to detailed negotiations. There is much still to be won, and this is the time to continue our work towards the Convention, towards our governments, and towards public opinion, to achieve the strongest, most democratic, and most federal result possible.

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 25th issue is 25th March). As usual, you can see all articles of this Bulletin in full length at: http://www.constitional-convention.net/.

Best European greetings,

Your Editors.