EUROPEAN UNION COMMITTEE
THE FUTURE OF EUROPE - THE CONVENTION'S
DRAFT CONSTITUTIONAL TREATY
By the Select Committee appointed to consider European
Union documents and other matters relating to the European Union.
ORDERED TO
REPORT
Abstract
The draft Constitutional Treaty for the European
Union is a significant document, meriting serious scrutiny and
wide public debate. With ten new countries set to join the EU
next year, it is necessary to agree a new Treaty now, as it is
generally agreed that the present institutional structure would
not function satisfactorily in a Union of 25.
Whether or not the draft Treaty is a "constitution"
is of less importance than what it says and how it will affect
all our lives.
The draft Treaty was prepared by the Convention on
the Future of Europe, which was composed of representatives of
national parliaments and governments, including from the applicant
countries, and of the European Parliament and the Commission.
The Convention met in public. The draft is now being considered
by Ministers meeting in the Intergovernmental Conference, which
does not meet in public.
The draft Treaty:
Reforms the institutions of the EU
Incorporates a Charter of Fundamental Rights
Changes the way the EU works, including
granting the Union some new powers ("competences")
Enhances the role of national parliaments.
But the draft Treaty is also largely composed of
the text of current Treaties - i.e. much of what it provides for
is not new.
With an eye to whether the draft Treaty is good for
Britain, and for the European Union, this report examines the
draft Treaty against four key themes:
Does it confirm the EU as a union of Member
States, rather than a state in its own right?
Does it mean significant improvements in
democracy, accountability and transparency?
Will it make any difference to citizens,
and bring the EU's institutions closer to them?
Will it make the EU more efficient?
The report concludes that the answer to the first
question is yes. But, as a consequence, provisions for direct
democratic legitimacy are harder to achieve. For example, it is
precisely because the EU is not a state that the Treaty does not
provide some of the direct mechanisms (such as the power to remove
a government) that would exist in a state.
Overall, the report concludes that the draft Treaty
would make some contributions to democracy, accountability and
efficiency in the EU. For example, the Treaty clearly sets out
what the EU is. But it is far less successful in securing transparency
or bringing the EU closer to citizens.
The Government could do much more to explain the
draft Treaty, particularly to specialised audiences, but should
also continue to do more to provide information to the public.
The report also concludes that the Intergovernmental
Conference should not rush to agree the Treaty - they need to
get it right. The report also makes recommendations for changes
to the Treaty text in a number of areas, including with regard
to the proposed European Foreign Minister.
A final key theme of the report is the need for national
parliaments to do more, both collectively and individually, to
hold the Governments, who take so many of the EU's decisions,
to full account.
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