On 21 and 22 June the European Council met for the last time under the German Presidency. The agenda included a point on the review of the EU Treaty.
The German Presidency had announced that they wanted to outline a precise "roadmap" for the review of the Treaty.
The risk of a political ‘quick-fix’at any price and without any public debate
In a recent commentary on the summit treaty talks at a Brussels-based think tank, non governmental organisations warned against a political ‘quick fix’ of the replacement of the Constitutional Treaty. There is a need for a broad public debate on the content of the treaty. This is all the more important since a majority of Member Stated seem to support France’s idea of a "simplified treaty". The UK is even reluctant to recognice EU’s legal personality and extending qualified majority voting. It even suggested to withdraw the Charter of Fundamental Rights from the text.
The need for a public debate was also emphasized by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in its resolution on the roadmap for the constitutional process: "civil society organisations should be given the opportunity for consultative involvement during the ICG".
NGOs call on a Social Europe and improved Civil Society consultation
In order to ensure civil society involvement in the upcoming negociations, The Social Platform launched a six-month campaign to make Social Europe a priority in the discussions taking place on the revision of the EU Constitutional Treaty.
In an open letter addressed to all 27 Heads of State and government, the Social Platform asked Member States to commit the Intergovernmental Conference (ICG) to the following:
Incorporating the full text of the Charter on Fundamental Rights to the Treaty.
Maintaining the principle of Participatory democracy.
Safeguarding progress made by keeping horizontal clauses on gender equality (III-116), social objectives (III-117), non-discrimination (III-118), and services of general interest (III-122)
Adding a social protocol or chapter.
These points have been backed by the Civil Society Contact Group in its call for an effective treaty and a transparent and accessible Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC).
The Civil Society Contact Group also challenged the Council to set up an effective strategy of involving civil society which should include:
Regular meetings between the civil society and the presidency of the Union
A website where civil society positions on the treaty revision should be posted and accessed by all Member States
Discussions in the ICG should be public, and transmitted via EUropean broadcast system (Ebs) and a dedicated website.
For more information: EPHA’s section on EU Treaty Reform in its call for an effective treaty and a transparent and accessible Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC),
