“Mr. President,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The text I am going to present to you today is the fruit of our collective work over a period of sixteen months.

It is a single text, constituting a coherent and unequivocal whole.

There are many who considered this result impossible to attain. If we have succeeded in doing so, it is because each of us has agreed to acknowledge that our own preferred solution was not necessarily acceptable to others.

Our proposal is an ambitious one, in the sense that it goes further than any of thought possible. […]

It is you who will from now on take responsibility for the future of our project. Permit me to emphasise that the project is now in your hands, it has reached your level, the level of Heads of State or Government of Europe; it is no longer a question of technical discussion but of the fate of a Constitution.

I would also appeal to you to ensure that no disturbance of the balance, by calling its provision into question, is allowed to jeopardise the solidarity of the edifice! […]

The moment has come, Mr. President, to present to you, on behalf of the members of the European Convention, the result of our reflections and our work.

We hope that this text will form the foundation of the future Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe.

Thank You.”

[Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, President of the Convention, Conclusion of his oral report to the European Council, 20th June 2003.]