The discussion revolved around the chances of the Constitutional Treaty ever entering into force, as well as the possible alternatives.
About 100 people attended from
EU institutions;
Assorted embassies, permanent representations and missions;
NGOs, including EPHA;
Business associations and industries.
The panel was made up of the following:
Dr Ulrike Guérot, Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund, Berlin;
Pervenche Berès MEP, Chairwoman of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee;
Dr Alfred Pijpers, Senior Research Fellow at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations (Clingendael), The Hague;
Prof Renaud Dehousse, Director of the Centre for European Studies, Sciences-Po, Paris.
Each panelist outlined his/her views on the current status of the Treaty, focusing in particular on the French and Dutch domestic debates as well as the expectations of the German Presidency in the first half of 2007.
The first two panelists were of the opinion that the Constitution is all but dead and buried, while the final two panelists raised broader issues, such as the need for further European cohesion.
The debate that followed revolved around numerous aspects of the Constitutional debate.
Questions raised included the failed government information campaign to their citizens; the appropriateness of holding referenda for such a Treaty; the naming the proposed legislation as "Treaty" or "Constitution" and the associated problems of translation; the question of whether citizens really knew on what they were voting; whether in a globalising world integration and federalisation is needed; the political will and action influencing the progression or not of the Constitution.
Panelists appeared to agree that there would be no new Constitution before the summer of 2009. However, what should be done in the meantime met with less consensus.
And so the debate continues...
