Ratification campaigns

*This article has been updated with the latest attempts of the German Presidency to revive the Constitution.*
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 (...)

As part of the Act4europe campaign, the Civil Society Contact Group is preparing a handbook for NGOs on the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty.
The handbook will include sectoral assessments of the final text by the Contact Group members and information on what the state of play is in the different Member States.
There will be a section on national NGO views on the ratification process in their Member States, and the involvement of NGOs in the process: whether/how you are organising (...)

The Constitutional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament organised last 25 November 2004 a hearing with civil society on the Constitutional Treaty.
The Civil Society Contact Group sent a letter to the Committee ahead of the hearing.
The letter calls for an amendment to the EP report which will strengthen the call for sufficient support to be made available for civil society organisations across the EU to engage their constituencies in ratification debates.
In addition to the joint (...)

In a debate hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 9 November 2004, representatives of all sectors of civil society met with MEPs Íñigo Mendez de Vigo (EPP-ED, ES) and Richard Corbett (PES, UK).
This was an opportunity for civil society to comment on the Draft Report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) on the draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (2004/2129(INI)).
The Draft Report will now be finalised and the final version will be debated (...)