Dear Europeans,

Valéy Giscard d’Estaing opened the discussion on institutional questions within the Convention which was a slap in the face to the Convention members. Previously at the informal European Council meeting in Athens he had presented “majority positions” within the Convention which hardly any member could agree with. Before debating the issue of the Union institutions in the Convention he asked the heads of states for advice concerning this issue (you can find a briefing on the meeting in Athens in this bulletin). One week later did he not only put forward ideas about the future institutions of the Union (such as an appointed fulltime President of the European Council and a Congress of the People), which were knowingly not at all supported by any majority of the Convention members and which would have made the Union an even more complicated entity. Moreover he did not present these ideas to the Convention members at all, but leaked them to the press and presented them some days later to the Convention Presidium. Although the Presidium was able to weaken Giscard’s positions, it is obvious that the draft articles on institutions are still very intergovernmental and far from sufficient to make the Union a more democratic, more efficient and more transparent.

“Our common aim is to unite Europe. I hope that we will not do so by copying other institutions. In the proposals of Valery Giscard d’Estaing we copy the President of the United States, the People’s Congress of China and the Politbureau of the former Soviet Union. We should not create new and overlapping institutions. I hope we can come to a consensus in the end.”
[Kimmo Kiljunen, Convention member from the Finish Parliament, in the Convention meeting on the 24th April 2003.]

“This is purely about reducing the powers of the smaller EU countries, the Commission and the European Parliament.”
[Elmar Brok, Convention member from the European Parliament, in the Convention meeting on the 24th April 2003.]

“You have not listened to us, or you would have taken our concerns into account.”
[Johannes Voggenhuber, Convention member from the European Parliament, addressing Giscard in the Convention meeting on the 24th April 2003.]

TITLE IV: The Union's Institutions

Article 14 : The Union's Institutions

1. The Union shall be served by a single institutional framework which shall aim to:
- advance the objectives of the Union,
- promote the values of the Union,
- serve the interests of the Union, its citizens and its Member States, and ensure the consistency, effectiveness and continuity of the policies and actions which it undertakes in pursuit of its objectives.

PART I – TITLE V

Article 29

The Union's common foreign and security policy

1. The European Union shall undertake to conduct a common foreign and security policy, based on the progressive development of mutual political solidarity among Member States, the progressive identification of questions of general interest and the achievement of an ever-increasing degree of convergence of Member States' actions.

2. The European Council shall identify the Union's strategic interests and determine the objectives of its common foreign and security policy. The Council of Ministers shall frame this policy in accordance with the arrangements in Part Two of the Constitution.

To see all articles and comments of the presidium on External Action, click: http://european-convention.eu.int/docs/Treaty/CV00685.EN03.pdf.

Hereby I would like to give you a small briefing about the Convention meeting on the 24th and 25th of April. The information is based on several meetings I attended (Convention plenary, a press conference of Mendez de Vigo and Klaus Hänsch, the Constitutional Affairs Committee in the European Parliament, the delegation meetings of the EP and of the SPE-family, the Federalist Convention Intergroup) and on the rumours spread around inside and outside of the Convention.

I. ANALYSIS OF THE AMENDMENTS BY TOPIC - SUMMARY

1. Convention members have submitted a total of 235 amendments to the draft articles in Title VI, the democratic life of the Union, including 5 of a general nature, 30 relating to Article 33, 50 to Article 34, 25 to Article 35, 30 to Article 35a, 40 to Article 36, 22 to Article 36a, and 33 to Article 37.

2. The amendments put forward for Articles 33 to 37 relate to very varied aspects of the democratic life of the Union, and it is not always easy to classify them according to topic. However, there are some more significant amendments which stand out.

To see the full document, click: http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/03/cv00/cv00670en03.pdf.

ANALYSIS OF ALL THE AMENDMENTS

Convention members have presented [31] amendments to draft Article 42. With only a few exceptions, these fall under three broad headings:
- Several amendments question either the need for such an article, or if it is decided to retain it, whether it should not more properly be situated elsewhere in the Constitution (a number suggest in Part II);
- A considerable number of amendments propose that the relationship proposed should take account of the role of the Council of Europe and other relevant international organisations;
- A number of amendments propose adding a reference to the necessity for such a relationship to be governed by some basic principles, in particular, democracy, the rule of law and human rights;

To see the full document, click: http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/03/cv00/cv00671en03.pdf.

THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF AMENDMENTS (SUMMARY)
The Secretariat received 90 proposals for amendments concerning the draft Articles relating to Title X (Articles 43 to 46 of the Constitution). The topics most frequently raised regarding these four articles may be summarised as follows:

1. Article 43: The main topic mentioned is the request, made by several members of the Convention, to delete this Article in the present Title since, according to them, the first sentence does no more than repeat draft Article 1(3) and the second sentence of this draft simply states the obvious, and it would be better if it were deleted (a suggestion endorsed by several other members of the Convention)…

To see the full document, click: http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/03/cv00/cv00672en03.pdf.

THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF AMENDMENTS - SUMMARY
Convention members submitted 147 amendments to these draft Articles A to D (Part Three).

The issues which prompted the most amendments are the following:
1. Procedure for revising the Constitutional Treaty
The amendments submitted relate in particular to the initiative for proposing amendments to the Constitutional Treaty, the procedure for revising that Treaty and the approval of amendments.

Regarding the initiative for revision, many of the amendments call for this Article also to make it possible for the European Parliament to submit revision proposals.

In the case of the procedure for revision, some of the amendments propose that the Intergovernmental Conference should be prepared by a Convention, either in all cases, or if the European Council, the European Parliament and/or the Council so decide. Other amendments favour maintaining the existing procedure…

To see the full document, click: http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/03/cv00/cv00673en03.pdf.

Brussels, 3 and 4 April 2003

1. Debate on the draft articles relating to the area of freedom, security and justice

Vice-Chairman Amato introduced the debate by emphasising that in drafting these texts, the Praesidium had endeavoured to ensure that these articles of the Constitutional Treaty reflected as accurately as possible the conclusions of Working Group X, chaired by Mr Bruton. That Group had succeeded in achieving a delicate and balanced compromise which the Praesidium wished to maintain. Accordingly, while these articles ensure that the instruments and procedures of ordinary law are broadly applicable, they acknowledge some of the area's specific features, such as Member States' right of initiative or a particular role for national parliaments. The Vice-Chairman said it could be considered at a later stage whether certain provisions, such as those on the European Council or the subsidiarity test, should remain in this section or whether they could be moved to another section of the Constitution…

To read the entire report, see: http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/03/cv00/cv00677en03.pdf.

16th April 2003

Following I would like to give you a short briefing of the results of the informal European Council meeting concerning the European Convention.

The (grand)farther of the Convention, Valery Giscars d'Estaing, was invited to give a report and speak about the Convention itself. Nevertheless it was obvious that VGE went much further than reporting: he openly discussed with the Heads of state and government about the future work of the Convention, especially concerning the institutions, and asked for their advice and their opinions.

Monsieur le Président,

Mesdames et Messieurs les Membres du Conseil européen,

La déclaration de Laeken dispose que « le Président de la Convention présentera un rapport oral sur l’état d’avancement des travaux à chaque Conseil européen, ce qui permettra, par la même occasion, de recueillir le sentiment des Chefs d’Etat ou de Gouvernement ».

C’est dans cet esprit que je présenterai ce rapport car la Convention arrive à un stade de ces travaux où il est important de recueillir votre sentiment.

Released on April 24, 2003

Speaking ahead of this week's Convention plenary session, Alison Weston, President of the Young European Federalists (JEF) stated, "Its time for Valery Giscard d'Estaing to show that he is taking the Convention method seriously and reflect the views of the majority of members of the Convention."

"With less than two months of the Convention left to run, its time that Valery Giscard d'Estaing reflected the Convention's demands for a democratic and understandable Union. His recent proposals represent a huge step away from this goal and a giant leap towards a more confusing and less legitimate system."
JEF Europe today launches its newspaper, 'The Daily European' at the Convention plenary session. Set in the future European Federation, the newspaper offers a visionary look at the roles of the leading political players in years to come under the headline 'EU Jobs Exclusive'.

Are you looking for an interesting and challenging job?
Have a look at the latest edition of the Daily European at http://www.jef-europe.net/dailyeuropean/!

Released: Athens, 12 April 2003

“European Identity is like pornography. You cannot define it, but certainly you recognise it when you see it”, Alison Weston, President of JEF Europe, pointed out yesterday evening at the official opening of the International Youth Meeting in Athens. This 3-day event is the second large-scale initiative of JEF under the project “Europe! A Generation Ahead”, run with the support of the European Commission.

In front of 200 young Europeans, who gathered in the historic building of the Old Parliament, Ms Weston presented the new “Convention approach” of the European Union, where decisions are not taken behind closed doors but with the active role of the citizens. She described the war in Iraq as a “ghost in the room” for European politics that brought forward the question of how to make Europe able to deal with crisis.

Please find the conclusions from the international youth meeting on the Convention that took place in Athens on 11-13 April at http://www.constitutional-convention.net/project/

Brussels, 23 April 2003

Reacting to the proposals made by the President of the European Convention, Giscard d'Estaing on the reform of the European institutions, Monica Frassoni, Co-President of the Green/EFA group in the European parliament said today:

"The President of the Convention's proposals are discouraging for all those who believe in a truly democratic Europe.

"According to Giscard, the European Union would be firmly in the hands of the member state governments. The European Commission and the European Parliament would see their role reduced to being mere appendices of an over powerful European Council. This Council would be organised like a government, with a permanent elected President, a Vice-president and even a cabinet of seven members. Giscard's model differs only in one important aspect from that of national governments: it is not subject to clear democratic accountability.

Ce matin, la Commission a examiné pour la première fois les propositions de réforme institutionnelle de l'Union européenne que le président de la Convention a présentées hier aux membres du Praesidium et à la presse.

La réforme des institutions de l'Union européenne revêt une importance capitale afin de garantir le fonctionnement efficace d'une Union élargie, de renforcer la responsabilité démocratique, de simplifier le mode de fonctionnement de l'Union européenne. En somme, elle devrait apporter une réponse claire à la question «qui fait quoi?».

The European Council of Athens took its decision:

VGE gets no extra-time!

We, the citizens of the Union, propose a different agenda for the Constitution of the Union

Ladies and Gentlemen, members of the European Convention,

Coming from different areas of the European associative life and being actively involved in the debate over Europe’s future, we don’t want to experience again what happened on the occasion of the Intergovernmental Conferences in Amsterdam and Nice.

At the last meeting of the European Council in Athens it was decided not to grant extra-time to Mr. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. Furthermore, fully conscious that the time allowed to the Convention for completing its work is too short and risks weakening its quality, the Heads of States and Governments decided that bringing an end to the Convention’s endeavours must be taken over by the Intergovernmental Conference.

The following press release has been sent to members of the German and the European Parliament, the French Embassy in Berlin and other political bodies.

"Weg mit Giscard: mehr Demokratie für Europa!"

Der Präsident des Konvents für eine Europäische Verfassung, der ehemalige französische Staatspräsident Giscard d`Estaing, hat versucht, diese verfassunggebende Versammlung auszuhebeln. Wie von Anfang an befürchtet worden war, wollte Giscard - der von den Regierungen eingesetzt, nicht etwa von den Parlamenten gewählt ist - in der Schlußphase der Beratungen des Konvents eigene Vorschläge durchdrücken: ein von den Regierungen ernannter Präsident des Europäischen Rates (Regierungsvertretung) soll mit sechs Helfern, darunter einem europäischen Außenminister, die Europäische Union autoritär lenken. Kommission und Europäisches Parlament hätten das Nachsehen.