Andrew Duff launches European Constitution Plan B

12.55.39pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 18th Oct 2006

The European Constitution has to be rescued by renegotiation. This is the main message of a new pamphlet by Andrew Duff MEP, launched today and published by the influential think-tank Notre Europe.

Mr Duff asserts that completion of Europe's constitutional process is essential in order to equip the Union to meet the demands of the 21st Century and the aspirations of a large majority of its citizens. Without the constitution, he argues, Europe will lack internal cohesion and external strength, and the EU's development into a mature, post-national democracy will be halted.

Andrew Duff says: 'Everyone should now recognise that the constitutional treaty cannot come into force without serious revision.

'Two things must be avoided. First, to open up the whole package for review, as some have suggested, would almost certainly result in something worse. Second, to merely dissect or reduce the text, as others have suggested, would be both legally impossible and politically improbable. Simplistic solutions will not work.

'Instead, the 2004 text must be ring-fenced where the consensus behind it still holds good. This applies mainly to the Preamble, Part I and Part II.'

The changes he recommends are of three sorts: presentational, structural and substantive:

As far as presentation is concerned, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the social dimension of Europe should be made more visible.

As far as structure is concerned, Part III -- concerning the common policies and detailed functioning of the Union -- should be made subsidiary to Part I, and easier to revise in future. The general passerelle clause, allowing shifts from abnormal to normal decision-making, should be simplified.

As far as substance is concerned, five policy areas suggest themselves for modification or innovation:

"« the economic governance of the Union should be strengthened, particularly of the eurozone; and the goals of the Lisbon agenda should be written into the constitution;

"« the common architecture for the European social model should be defined; those member states wishing to go further should commit themselves to a Protocol on a Social Union;

"« combating climate change should become the imperative to which all common policies, especially agriculture, energy and transport, need to conform;

"« the Copenhagen criteria, governing the enlargement policy of the Union, should be included in the constitution; and a new category of associate membership should be introduced.

"« the revised financial system, covering both revenue and expenditure, should be included in the renegotiated Part III, allowing the EU¡¦s budget better to match its political priorities.

The IGC, which will be prepared by the German and Portuguese presidencies during 2007, should fully engage with the European Parliament in order to achieve a consensus at the inter-institutional level and to add greater legitimacy to the final text. DUFF proposes that the IGC and Parliament adopt a new form of constitutional co-decision in which texts are shuttled and reconciled between the two.

'Such interactivity will foster agreement between political parties, member states and EU institutions,' he says, 'thereby increasing the likelihood of reaching final democratic agreement around the improved constitutional package'.

ENDS/...

Plan B: how to rescue the European Constitution by Andrew Duff can be downloaded from www.notre-europe.eu.

Andrew Duff MEP is spokesman on the constitution for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), co-author of the European Parliament's recent reflections on the Constitution and a former member of the Convention on the Future of Europe.

His book The Struggle for Europe's Constitution was published by the Federal Trust/I.B. Tauris in 2005.