Europäische Verfassung[en] 

Simplification of the Treaties was one of the key objectives of the Convention. A simplified constitutional treaty should help to render the EU more understandable for its citizens, and the responsibilities of those involved in the decision-making process more clearly established. 

Currently, the EU is governed by several treaties that have been revised during its 50-year history. The three original Treaties founding the EuropeanCommunities were the Treaty establishing the EuropeanCommunity, the Treaty establishing the Atomic Energy Community and the Treaty establishing the EuropeanCoal and Steel Community. They were followed by the Single Act, the Treaty on EuropeanUnion (Treaty of Maastricht), the Treaty of Amsterdam and the Treaty of Nice, which entered into force on 1 February 2003. 

In addition, the Treaty of Maastricht created a new entity, the EuropeanUnion, with a three-pillar structure: the Community pillar (corresponding to the three Community Treaties), the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) pillar and the justice and home affairs (JHA) pillar. 

The Treaty of Amsterdam transferred to the Community pillar part of the activities covered by the third pillar, which is now limited to judicial and police cooperation in criminal matters. The main characteristics of the second and third pillars are decision-making procedures and instruments of action which are more intergovernmental in nature than the Community method. 

Other EU primary legislation comprises: 

• Accession Treaties; 
• Acts or Decisions (for example, Decisions relating to the location of the seats of institutions or other bodies, or the Act concerning the election of representatives of the EuropeanParliament by direct universal suffrage); 
• around 40 Protocols having the value of Treaties; 
• many Joint or unilateral Declarations accompanying each Treaty.  

The Draft Treaty establishing a  Constitution for Europe, adopted by the EuropeanConvention in Brussels on 10 July 2003, consists of the following parts: 

• Preamble 

• Part I: 
  • Title I: Definition and objectives of the Union 
  • Title II: Fundamental rights and citizenship of the Union 
  • Title III: Union competences 
  • Title IV: The Union's institutions 
  • Title V: Exercise of Union competence 
  • Title VI: The democratic life of the Union 
  • Title VII: The Union's finances 
  • Title VIII: The Union and its immediate environment 
  • Title IX: Union membership  

• Part II: The charter of fundamental rights of the Union 

• Part III: The policies and functioning of the Union 
• Title I - Clauses of general application 
• Title II - Non-discrimination and citizenship 
• Title III - Internal policies and action 
• Title IV - Association of overseas countries and territories 
• Title V - External action of the Union 
• Title VI - The functioning of the union 
• Title VII - Common provisions 
• Annex I: Protocol amending the Euratom Treaty 
• Annex II: Protocol on the euro group 
• Annex III: Declaration on the creation of a EuropeanExternal Action Service 

• Part IV: General and final provisions  

The main changes introduced by the new Constitutionare: 

• The Preamble refers to the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe.
• The EU will have a  single legal personality , allowing it to sign international treaties.
• The  European Parliament 's size shall not exceed 732 members. Representation of  European citizens shall be degressively proportional, with a minimum threshold of four members per Member State.
• The  European   Council shall elect its  president for up to five years (two possible mandates of 2.5 years) to chair summits and drive forward its work. The president will replace the present six-month rotating presidency.
• The  presidency of Council formations , other than that of Foreign Affairs, shall be held by Member States on the basis of equal rotation for periods of at least a year.
• From 2009 onward, the  Commission shall consist of its president, the minister for foreign affairs/vice-president and 13 commissioners selected on the basis of a system of equal rotation between the Member States. The Commission president shall appoint non-voting commissioners coming from all other Member States. Until 2009, every Member State will have one commissioner.
• A new  minister for foreign affairs shall conduct the Union's common foreign and defence policy, sitting in the Commission with access to its resources but answerable to Member States. He/she will be appointed by the  European Council with approval from the Commission.
• Member States may create, by unanimous decision, a  European public prosecutor to combat cross-border crime and terrorism.
• Most decisions will be taken by  majority vote . The  European Parliament's role in decision-making will be nearly doubled. National veto will be preserved in a few politically sensitive areas, such as taxation and foreign policy.
• From 2009, decisions will be taken by  double majority , representing at least half of the Member States and 60 per cent of the Union's total population. Until 2009, the complicated Nice Treaty rules will apply.
• Under a new solidarity clause, Member States will provide  mutual assistance in case of terrorist attack.
• Member States will be able to subscribe to a  mutual defence clause .
• Members of the  Economic and Monetary Union will be able to set their own economic policy guidelines and enforce eurozone rules, without involvement from non-euro countries.
• Introduction of a referendum: a minimum of  one million EU citizens will have the right to demand from the Commission to submit a proposal on matters on which they believe the Union should act.
• A new  exit clause will allow Member States to leave the Union.
• The Union will have its  official symbols : flag (blue background with 12 yellow stars in a circle), anthem (Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy'), motto ('United in diversity'), currency and Europe Day (9 May).
• A new Convention will have to be convened for  revising the  Constitution . Should the changes proposed be minor in nature, the  European Parliament is to give its approval to a decision not to convene a Convention. The principle of unanimity in Council remains unchanged.
• The  'open method of coordination' , while not explicitly mentioned, is suggested for a number of areas: social policy, research, health policy and industrial competitiveness. The aim is to encourage Member States to coordinate their actions voluntarily, without having to resort to Community legislation.
• A specific provision has been added on the  'cultural exception' in international trade agreements. Decisions on such agreements are normally to be made by qualified majority voting, but the text now states that the Council shall 'act unanimously for the negotiation and conclusion of agreements in the field of trade in cultural and audiovisual services, where these risk prejudicing the Union's cultural and linguistic diversity'.
• A new  European External Action Service will be created to support the work of the future EU Foreign Minister.
• Veto will be kept for decisions on foreign policy and taxation and Member States will continue to set national quotas for immigration.
• For  Euratom , the draft introduces a legal separation between the  Constitution and the Euratom Treaty. 

Mr Giscard d'Estaing handed the final draft over the the Italian Presidency of the EU on 18 July to serve as a starting point for the Inter-Governmental Conference. 

The Convention's Chairman Valéry Giscard d'Estaingclosed the Convention saying that he was proud with the Convention's achievement. He urged the Member States' governments not to change the proposed text. 

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, the German government representative in the Convention, said the Convention was "a success story." He described the draft Constitutionas "a historic compromise that will make the EuropeanUnion of 25 able to function and more transparent. That will move Europeandemocracy forward." 

MEP Elmar Brok, Chairman of the EPP Group in the Convention, said that the new Constitutionwould "guarantee the inter-institutional balance between the EP, the Council, and the Commission." He called for a "short and sharp" IGC and urged the governments not to reopen the issues agreed by the Convention. "Something which has emerged from the broad consensus of parliamentarians should not be changed by diplomats," added Mr Brok. 

President of the PES Group in the  European Parliament, Enrique Barón, said that the Socialists had "successfully defended our principles of solidarity and social justice". He said the inclusion of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the draft constitutionwas particularly welcome for the Socialists. "This new 'Magna Carta' marks a significant stage towards achieving a continental unity, the basis for which was destroyed by the 2nd world war. It is the foundation for a kind of superpower in the international community based on peace and solidarity," said Mr Barón. He urged the IGC not to alter "the basic lines laid down by the Convention". 

The Greens in the  European Parliamentwelcomed the Convention's decision to keep the Euratom treaty out of the draft Constitution. Green MEP Johannes Voggenhuber said: "The Convention has laid the foundations of the first supranational democracy in history. It has transformed the EU from an association of states into a Union of citizens. With this constitution Europeancitizens are becoming true sovereigns of the Union. The hour this constitutionenters into force will be the same hour the Europeandemos is born." 

MEP Andrew Duff, representing the Liberal group in the Convention, describe the draft Constitutionas "a huge achievement". "It is the greatest step forward for the development of the legal and political system of the Union since the Treaty of Rome in 1957. This is a Constitutionbuilt to last," said Mr Duff. He insisted that future modifications of the Constitutionshould introduce more majority voting on foreign and security policy and taxation. 

MEP Jens-Peter Bonde, representing the Euro-sceptic Group for a Europe of Democracies and Diversities in the EuropeanParliament, called for a Europe-wide referendum alongside the next Europeanelections in June 2004 to decide over the EU Constitution. "With this constitutionwe add to the democratic deficit. The national parliaments and the electorates lose more powers than the EuropeanParliament gains. Democracy is the loser and the winners will be the civil servants and the lobbyists," said Mr Bonde.