7 DRAFT ARTICLES FOR A NEW EU TREATY
(a)
(24507)
CONV 528/03
(b)
(24508)
CONV 571/03
(c)
(24509)
CONV 579/03
(d)
(24510)
CONV 602/03
(e)
(24511)
CONV 614/03
(f)
(24512)
CONV 647/03
(g)
(24526)
CONV 648/03
(h)
(24527)
CONV 650/03
(i)
(24528)
CONV 685/03
(j)
(24529)
CONV 691/03
(k)
(24533)
CONV 649/03
(l)
(24563)
CONV 724/03
(m)
(24564)
CONV 725/03
(n)
(24576)
CONV 722/03
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Draft Articles 1 to 16 of the Constitutional Treaty; with government
amendments.
Draft Articles 24 to 33 of the Constitutional Treaty; with government
amendments.
Draft Protocols on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and
proportionality, and on the role of national parliaments in the European
Union; with government amendments.
Union finances: draft Articles 38 to 40; with government amendments.
Area of freedom, security and justice: draft Article 31 (Part I) and draft
Articles from Part II; with government amendments.
Draft Part III: General and final provisions; with government amendments.
Draft Title X: Union membership; with government amendments.
Draft Articles of Title VI, Part I of the constitutional treaty: The democratic life
of the Union; with government amendments.
Draft Articles on external action in the Constitutional Treaty; with
government amendments.
Institutions: draft Articles for Title IV, Part I of the Constitution; with
government amendments.
Draft Title IX: the Union and its immediate environment.
Draft Constitution, Volume I, revised text of Part I.
Draft Constitution, Volume II, draft texts of Parts II, III and IV.
Draft Preamble.
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| Legal base | —
|
| Document originated | (a) to (k) 6 February to 23 April 2003
(l) 26 May 2003
(m) 27 May 2003
(n) 28 May 2003
|
| Deposited in Parliament |
(a) to (f) 14 May 2003
(g) to (i) and (k) 16 May 2003
(j) 15 May 2003
(l) and (m) 29 May 2003
(n) 3 June 2003
|
| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
|
| Basis of consideration |
(a) EM of 16 May 2003
(b), (c), (f) to (h) and (k) EM of 27 May 2003
(d), (e) and (j) EMs of 2 June 2003
(i) EM of 29 May 2003
(l) EM of 24 June 2003
(m) EM of 8 July 2003
(n) EM of 2 July 2003
|
| Previous Committee Report |
See HC 63-xxiv (2002-03) (5 June 2003); and HC 63-xxvi (2002-03) (25 June 2003)
|
| To be discussed in Council
| Not applicable |
| Committee's assessment | Legally and politically important
|
| Committee's decision | (a) to (k) Cleared
(l) to (n) Not cleared
|
Background
7.1 The Praesidium of the Convention on the Future of
Europe has since February been producing draft Articles and Protocols
for a constitutional treaty or constitution to replace the EU's
existing treaties. The Praesidium's first drafts of groups of
articles (documents (a) to (k)) were intended to reflect the conclusions
of the Convention's working groups and the reception of their
reports by the Convention's plenary. A complete draft was published
on 26-7 May (documents (l) and (m)), parts of which were revised
versions of those earlier drafts following debate in the Convention's
plenary and parts of which were new (notably much of Part III)
and had not been discussed in the plenary. A preamble was added
on 28 May (document (n)). A complete draft, except for Part III,
was agreed by consensus by the Convention as a whole in mid-June
and was presented to the European Council on 20 June. The provisions
of Part III were the subject of further discussion and were agreed
by the Convention on 10 July .
7.2 Final decisions will be made by the
subsequent Inter-Governmental Conference, and will require the
agreement of each Member State. Nevertheless, Member States may
well be unwilling to reopen matters already settled by a broad
consensus in the Convention, and the proposals being considered
by the Convention will therefore be highly influential.
7.3 For this reason, we asked the Government
on 26 February if it would deposit the draft Articles in Parliament,
so that we had the possibility of recommending them for debate.
On 2 April it agreed to do so, and we accepted its suggestion
that the draft Articles and the Government's proposed amendments
to them should be deposited together.
The documents
7.4 The first draft Articles, together with
the Government's proposed amendments, were deposited on 13 May,
and the first Explanatory Memorandum on a tranche of draft Articles
reached us on 16 May. Documents (a) to (k) were superseded by
documents (l) to (m), which have themselves been superseded by
later drafts (in some parts not much altered).
7.5 We do not intend to provide a detailed
commentary on each of the draft Articles. We have reported to
the House on the proposals relating to accountability, transparency
and the role of national parliaments,[20]
and on the proposals relating to the area of "freedom, security
and justice".[21]
We also draw Members' attention to the valuable series of Reports
produced by our sister Committee in the Lords on each set of draft
Articles as they have been published.[22]
The Government's Explanatory Memoranda provide a helpful analysis
of its amendments to the first drafts.
Conclusion
7.6 Our main concern is what debates
we should recommend on the draft Articles in order to let Members
have the opportunity to seek to influence the Government as regards
the line it will take in the Inter-Governmental Conference which
will examine the Convention's work.
7.7 The House
has only recently (on 9 July) debated the Convention's work as
a whole. There have also been other general debates in the Standing
Committee on the Convention and in Westminster Hall. We consider
it would be worthwhile for the House also to have the opportunity
to debate specific aspects of the draft Treaty. These aspects
could include the provisions relating to national parliaments,
to external policy and to criminal justice. We do not yet have
a view on where such debates might take place, though an adapted
version of the Standing Committee on the Convention might well
be appropriate. We are in correspondence with the Foreign Secretary
on this matter. In the meantime we clear documents (a) to (k),
as they have been superseded, but leave documents (l) to (n) uncleared.
20 HC 63-xxiv (2002-03) (5 June 2003). Back
21
HC 63-xxvi (2002-03) (25 June 2003). Back
22
HL Papers 61, 70, 71, 81, 93, 105, 106, 107, Session 2002-03. Back
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