The EU’s first-ever Constitutional Treaty agreed at the European Council in June 2004, was officially signed by EU Heads of State or Government on 29 October 2004 in Rome.
Endorsement of the European Parliament
On 12 January 2004 the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the EU Constitution in a non-binding but politically symbolic vote. The report endorsing the Constitution was adopted by 500 votes in favour to 137 votes against, with 40 abstentions.
Moreover, the Parliament decided to establish a "rapid reaction force" to address what it considers to be unfair criticism of the Constitution in any EU Member State.
Ratification in Member States
To enter into force, the signed text has to be ratified by all 25 Member States within two years. Depending on the country, the decision on ratifying the treaty will be taken either by a parliament or via a popular referendum.
13 Member States ratified the Constitution. However, France and the Netherlands following referendums held on 29 May and 1 June 2005 respectively, failed to ratify the Constitution - with the result that the ratification process was subsequently stalled in most of the remaining ten Member States.
EU leaders therefore decided at the European Council in June 2005 to hold a "period of reflection" over the fate of the Treaty, in order to enable a broad debate to take place through various parliamentary and citizens’ forums.
In addition, it was suggested that the voting system envisaged by the new Constitution might have to be amended.
Such a change would require a unanimous agreement of all Member States and would have to be adopted before 2015 - the earliest possible date for Turkey’s EU entry.
Efforts to Revive the Constitution - Current Updates
On 19 January 2006, the European Parliament voted in favour of a plan which aims to revive the Constitution. The report on the "period of reflection : the structure, subjects and context for an assessment of the debate on the European Union" was adopted by 385 votes in favour to 125 against with 51 abstentions.
The rapporteurs, Andrew Duff (ALDE, UK) and Johannes Voggenhuber (Greens/EFA, AT) tried to suggest a possible rewriting of the 2004 constitution, mainly in the part which deals with EU policies. However, MEPs did say that "a positive outcome of the period of reflection would be that the current text can be maintained".
The Duff-Voggenhuber report, which criticised the Council and the Commission for failing to ensure that the reflection period had a clear focus, envisages that public debates should be organised through a large number of Citizens’ Forums in the Member States, thus extending the reflection period beyond the one year agreed in 2005.
The results of the debate and and a decision on how to proceed are to be taken in the second half of 2007. The goal would be to have the Constitution in force by 2009 in order to guarantee an effective and democratic Union.
EU Leaders To Extend the "Reflection Period" -
June 2006 - EU leaders agreed in Brussels to extend the "reflection period" on the EU constitution, to make Council meetings public and to pay more attention to the "absorption capacity" of the EU when taking decisions on further enlargements. During the June Summit, EU leaders decided that the final deadline for leaving the constitutional impasse would be the end of 2008.
European Parliament asks for clear proposals on constitutional process -
June 2006 - The European Parliament adopted on 14 June a "Resolution on the next steps for the period of reflection and analysis on the Future of Europe". The resolution confirms the European Parliament’s commitment to achieving, without undue delay, a constitutional settlement for the EU, as well as its endorsement of the Constitutional Treaty.
Dutch not to put Treaty for ratification a second time -
On 19 May, the Dutch government sent a letter to the Dutch parliament on its position on the future of the EU, based on public opinion research and expert advice. The government stated that the Constitutional Treaty would not be put for ratification a second time.
Finland’s "Pause for Reflection" -
June 2006 - Striving to turn the "Pause for Reflection" on the EU Constitutional Treaty into a phase of actively thinking how to bring the project forward was a key question for the Finnish presidency.
UDPATE : Angela Merkel and the German Presidency attempt to revive the constitution -
February 2007 -
The German Presidency began its term as leader of the EU in January and is now trying to revive the constitution, either in full or as a shorter slimmed-down version. The UK, Czech Republic and Poland want to replace the constitution with a new mini-treaty, which would consist of selected key initiatives from the original text. However, some leaders prefer the idea of putting the constitution on hold either temporarily, or indefinitely.
In France, presidential candidates are split over whether they would submit a re-negotiated "institutional treaty" - dealing with issuses relating to the way the EU functions - to a second referendum, or have a "mini-treaty" ratified by French parliament without a referendum.
Meanwhile, French MEP, Gerard Onesta (Greens/EFA) has suggested separating the constitution in to two parts. In his view, the first part would be the actual European constitution containing the objectives and aims of the treaty plus the charter of fundamental rights. The second part would become a European treaty containing European policies. The first part would be ratified by an EU-wide referendum, whilst the second part would need to be ratified by all 27 national parliaments.
Related links
EPHA article : Constitutional Treaty and public health
