1. Presentation of new draft Articles

Institutions

The President informed the Convention that the European Council meeting in Athens on 16 April had confirmed that the results of the Convention should be presented to the next European Council in Salonika on 20 June. This was therefore now the firm deadline to which the Convention must work.

Noting that the Convention now faced the most difficult phase of its work, the President presented draft articles on Institutions (articles 14 - 23). The various interventions so far had underlined the existence of differences of view over the type of Europe which the Convention wanted. Some preferred modest improvements to the institutional system, considering that existing arrangements in general best protected their rights. Others were more ambitious, seeking a more federal model, with new transfers of powers to the Commission and Parliament. A third group took a middle position, searching for the best balance between the exercise of powers at European and national levels. Yet, despite these differences, the Convention had built up a sense of common identity, and common purpose, on which it must now draw.

To see the full report, see: http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/03/cv00/cv00696en03.pdf.