Green NGOs present amendments to improve future EU Constitution

The Green NGOs make a critical assessment of the work of the Convention and state that by concentrating on institutional issues (the composition of the Commission, the voting procedures in the Council etc.), the reformulation of EU policy chapters has not been given enough attention: "The biggest weakness is in the policy chapters (Part III) of the draft Constitution. Many of them were drawn from the existing European Community Treaty without reconsidering their objectives. As they stand, they make EU sectoral policies conflict with the overall objectives of sustainable development and improvement of the environment." Consequently, the amendements proposed by the Green Eight refer mostly to the policy chapters of the draft Treaty, trying to "green" in all respects the proposed texts.

The report furthermore demands:

• more precise language on participatory democracy (citizens should e.g. be given access to justice to challenge EU decisions, and the Conciliation Committee shall have all its meetings in public);
• inclusion of the right to a clean and safe environment in the Chapter of Fundamental Rights;
• abolition of the Euratom Treaty.

The Green Eight also support the initiative by Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström to add a Protocol on Sustainable Development to the Treaty.