A large majority of the 25 Member States of the enlarged EU have expressed determination to renegotiate the draft European Constitution. At the informal meeting of the European foreign ministers in Riva del Garda this weekend, only the six founding members of the EU defended the draft Constitution, proposed by the European Convention in July.

Background:
The foreign ministers of the 25 Member States of the enlarged EU met in Riva del Garda from 5 to 7 September 2003 to prepare for the next intergovernmental conference (IGC), to be officially launched on 4 October in Rome. The IGC will use as the basis for its work the draft Constitution, adopted by the 105-member European Convention in July 2003.
Issues:
Only France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands said they were satisfied with the draft Constitution, proposed by the Convention. All other Member States of the enlarged Union expressed their firm intentions of negotiating the draft. They also rejected the proposal by the Italian Presidency of the Council and France to invite the Convention President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing to participate in the IGC.

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