The Convention must finish its work by June 2003, the planned endpoint. The many calls for an extension of the Convention’s work were ignored by Member States at the Athens summit.
64 Convention members, representing parliaments and governments from 25 countries, have called for the ratification of the future EU Constitutional Treaty via a referendum. On March 31 2003 they tabled a proposal for a referendum to be held in June 2004 on the same day as European Parliament elections.
A referendum would be important because it provides the voice of the European citizens on the Constitutional Treaty. It would be the third and final step for the new Constitution of Europe: Convention, ICG and Referendum.
