Dear Europeans,

The Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) failed. Against our wishes and hopes, the european leaders proved to be unable to deliver a strong political message of unity and produce a Constitution that Europe and it's citizens need. The first European Council of 25 Heads of State and Government could not agree on the basic legal text the Europe of the Future deserves and the momentum might be lost.

"European leaders meet tomorrow in Brussels. But if – as is exactly what happened three years ago in Nice – they cannot agree on a more democratic and efficient decision-making system, and remain stuck in Eurovision-like discussions on who gets what, we will have conclusive proof that the EU's first priority is to get rid of Intergovernmental conferences. Present Member State governments are unable to make decisions on behalf of the citizens of the EU."

Monica Frassoni, Co-President of the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament, on the eve of the Summit in Brussels.

12. December 2003

The European Council noted that it was not possible for the Intergovernmental Conference to reach an overall agreement on a draft constitutional treaty at this stage. The Irish Presidency is requested
on the basis of consultations to make an assessment of the prospect for progress and to report to the European Council in March.

Document available at:
http://ue.eu.int/newsroom/makeFrame.asp?MAX=&BID=75&DID=78397&LANG=1&File=/pressData/en/misc/78397.pdf&Picture=0

Rome, 8. December 2003

Dear Prime Minister,

The next European Council meeting will be held in Brussels on the morning of Friday, 12 December 2003. It will be followed, on the afternoon of that day and on Saturday 13 December 2003, by a meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference.

The European Council meeting will begin, at 09.30 on 12 December in the Justus Lipsius building, with the customary meeting with President Cox.

The Presidency intends to have the European Council discuss the following issues: economic growth (with the approval of the European growth initiative and with consideration of employment, in the light of the outcome of the extraordinary social summit, competitiveness and completion of the internal market); the results achieved in implementing a common area of freedom, security and justice; follow-up to and prospects for the enlargement process, with reference to the accession negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania and to Turkey's candidacy. That session should finish at the end of the morning of Friday 12 December.

9. December 2003

1. In line with the conclusions of the European Council meeting in Thessaloniki, the work of the InterGovernmental Conference has been conducted at political level. The meetings so far, in particular the ministerial conclave in Naples on 28-29 November, have enabled the Presidency to identify issues in the draft Constitutional Treaty which delegations consider need either clarifying or amending, and in some cases to make suggestions by way of response. The Presidency now submits a consolidated set of proposals designed to help the Conference reach an overall agreement at its meeting on 12-13 December.

LEGAL/TECHNICAL ISSUES

2. In parallel with discussions at political level the Presidency, with the agreement of all delegations, set up a group of legal experts in order to undertake a legal review of the draft Treaty establishing the Constitution drawn up by the Convention. The legal experts group met
several times in October and November under the Chair of the Legal Counsel of the IGC. The outcome of the group's proceedings has been circulated in document CIG 51/03.

Read the full document on-line:
http://www.ueitalia2003.it/NR/rdonlyres/FD364DFA-0503-4C37-B1D1-BE577BE7AAFC/4543/CIG_60_03_eng.pdf

Read the document on-line:
http://www.ueitalia2003.it/NR/rdonlyres/B6D8B2AC-707C-4FC8-AA34-12FD3C396EC8/0/1209Cig60Add1_en.pdf

Read the document on-line:
http://www.ueitalia2003.it/NR/rdonlyres/952B7C4E-D13C-404D-A952-C7996C6EA6BE/0/CIG_60_03_ADD2_EN03.pdf

An interesting analysis of the IGC failure in Brussels is available on the website of Tommorow Europe:

- in english: http://www.ciginfo.net/demain/files/tomorrow20en.pdf
- in french: http://www.ciginfo.net/demain/files/demain20fr.pdf

December 13, 2003

Commenting on the failure of the EU Summit in Brussels today, President of the Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe) Jon Worth stated: "The failure of the summit is a failure for European democracy."

"A lack of agreement on the text is an extremely worrying sign. It shows that Europe is lacking leadership, lacking vision, and will continue to lack coherency."

"If all states behaved like they have behaved today, we would not even have a European Union!"

"The hopes for the next few months are slim. Agreement has not been possible now, so what hope is there that things suddenly improve in the New Year?"

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18. December 2003

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the draft Treaty of 18 July 2003 establishing a Constitution for Europe
drawn up by the European Convention,

– having regard to the Italian Presidency proposals (CIG 60/03),

– having regard to Rule 37(4) of the Rules of Procedure,

A. recalling the general acknowledgement of the need for a deepening of European
integration in the process of the enlargement of the Union,

B. reaffirming its view that the Constitution must be signed in time for the public to be able
to engage in a relevant political debate in the context of the election campaign for the
European Parliament,

Brussels, 13. December 2003

Today it was not possible to reach an agreement. Any deal would have been below expectations and no one wanted that. Now we need to stop and think carefully and put our ideas in order.

The spirit of the Convention is still alive. And we were in agreement on almost all points up for discussion. Not on all.

It would be pointless and ungenerous to try and blame any individual delegations. We were all of the opinion that an agreement that fell below expectations was not in Europe's interest.

We now have the time and the determination to move forward and give people a workable, balanced constitution. It is time to get back to work.

It is vital for the European Union to make progress along the road to integration. The importance of the process far outweighs the significance of this day. I am certain this plain fact will soon be recognised and accepted by all. Today it is time for us all to go home and think hard about the future.

Read the full statement on-line:
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/1728|0|RAPID&lg=en&display=

15. December 2003

The Union of European Federalists noted with great concern the failure of the European Summit meeting in Brussels on December 12 and 13, 2003, to agree on the draft Constitutional Treaty adopted by the European Convention, a legitimate body representing not only the governments but also the parliaments of Europe.

This clearly demonstrated once more if necessary the failure of the intergovernmental method for EU reform. Due to the national veto the relaunch of intergovernmental negotiations in 2004 will not bring any sufficient decisions but only a Nice II. Any further attempt of a few member states to water down or veto the Convention’s draft Constitutional Treaty - clearly motivated by short-sighted “national” interests - must be rejected.

11. December 2003

On the eve of the EU summit in Brussels, Monica Frassoni, Co-President of the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament, said today:

"European leaders meet tomorrow in Brussels. But if – as is exactly what happened three years ago in Nice – they cannot agree on a more democratic and efficient decision-making system, and remain stuck in Eurovision-like discussions on who gets what, we will have conclusive proof that the EU's first priority is to get rid of Intergovernmental conferences. Present Member State governments are unable to make decisions on behalf of the citizens of the EU."

13. December 2003

The Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament have concluded that the failure of the EU's heads of State and Government to reach agreement on a constitution for Europe proves that Intergovernmental Conferences are an out-dated method of decision-making.

Monica Frassoni, Co-President of the Green/EFA Group, said:

"The summit breakdown yesterday shows that 25 governments are unable to agree on a good constitution for Europe – especially when several of them are doggedly pursuing national agendas. The Greens said before the summit even began that it would be better to adopt nothing than to adopt a bad constitution. For us, the text drafted by the European Convention remains the basis for any further debate. With its last minute compromise proposals, the Italian Presidency has not really contributed to the success of the IGC. But those governments that made it impossible to find a democratic and efficient decision-making process in Amsterdam and Nice are also responsible for the summit failure. Their power games in those summits have inspired the attitude of Spain and Poland."

16. December 2003

Speaking today during the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg Monica Frassoni, Co-President of the Green/EFA Group, said that the European Union was neither stronger nor more united after six months of the Italian Presidency of the Council.

Addressing the Council President Silvio Berlusconi, Monica Frassoni said:

"Your Government's attempts to strengthen the Union following divisive debates on Iraq has been totally insignificant. Your statements on Chechnya, your lack of initiative on the death penalty and your unconditional support to the Bush and Sharon governments have further reduced what little credibility the Union had as an international actor. All of this is symptomatic of an approach that is in such contrast to traditional Italian positions that it has surprised even the most eurosceptic members of the EU."

16. December 2003

One of the two EP representatives to the Brussels IGC, Klaus HÄNSCH (PES) told Parliament today that:

"There is a danger facing Europe following the failure of the Brussels Summit. For years we have reached compromises based on the lowest common denominator. On this occasion the lowest common denominator was the Nice Treaty which would have meant the scrapping of the draft constitution. Therefore, it was better for the meeting to have broken up rather than scrapping the draft itself."The European Parliament will not allow this draft constitution to disappear into the archives of history. It remains on the table. Europe is indeed in crisis. We cannot carry on with 'business as usual'. A crisis is not overcome by stalemate but by movement.

13. December 2003

"Disappointing" was how the Chairman of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, described the end of the European Summit in Brussels today (13.12.2003) without a result on the new constitution. It is unfortunate that despite the good preparatory work done by the Convention on the Future of Europe, the Heads of State and Government were unable to reach agreement.

14. December 2003

LYMEC, European Liberal Youth notes with great concern the collapse of the IGC. The actions and stubbornness of certain European countries leading up to the collapse of the Summit in Brussels once again proved, that a large number of Heads of States care more about their own isolated interests than about building a democratic, prosperous and functional European Union.

6. December 2003

The Federal Council of the International European Movement, meeting in Rome on December 6th, 2003 noted that the work of the ICG has confirmed that the IEM was justified in demanding the replacement – for the elaboration of the European Constitution and its future reforms - of the intergovernmental process of the organisation of the ICG with that of the Convention.

Brussels, 10th December, 2003

RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL LIBERTIES IN TOMORROW’S EUROPE

At a time when civil society is recognised as a major player in the promotion, the development and the defence of democracy and civil liberties, it is beyond doubt that philosophical or religious institutions, organisations or communities are fundamental pillars of this civil society. Everyone possesses indeed a faith or a philosophy that determines one’s approach to Life and Death and to the sense of one’s existence and being.

On the website of the European Young Socialists (http://www.ecosy.org/) you can express your opinion on the idea of a “hardcore Europe”.