This article discusses the history of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, which was signed in 2004 and is currently awaiting ratification by European Union member states.
Origins
For the first half-century of the history of the European Union, its constitutional law was the result of successive treaties, the most important among these being the Treaty of Rome (1957) and the Maastricht treaty (formally the Treaty on European Union, 1992). The Constitutional treaty of 2004 is in large part a consolidation of these two documents, as modified by the more recent treaties of Amsterdam (1997) and Nice (2001).
The need to review the EU's constitutional framework, particularly in light of the impending accession of ten new member states in 2004, was highlighted in a declaration annexed to the Treaty of Nice. The agreements at Nice had paved the way for further enlargement of the Union by reforming voting procedures, but the treaty was widely regarded as not having gone far enough. The opportunity was taken to declare that after Nice, the possibility of simplifying and consolidating the existing treaties should be looked into.
The Laeken declaration of December 2001 committed the EU to improving democracy, transparency and efficiency, and set out the process by which a constitution could be arrived at. The European Convention was established, presided over by former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, and was given the task of consulting as widely as possible across Europe with the aim of producing a first draft of the Constitution. This would then be handed over to an Intergovernmental Conference, scheduled for 2004, which would finalise a new treaty.
- Development of the Treaties into EU Constitution
Drafting
The Convention consisted mainly of representatives of national parliaments, not only from existing member states but also from candidate countries, as well as representatives of heads of state and government. It published its final draft in July 2003. This draft was then discussed at two meetings of the Council, in September and December, but agreement was not reached when Poland and Spain refused to accept the proposed framework for qualified majority voting. The incoming Irish Presidency then initiated a cooling-off period, following which the final text of the proposed Constitution was agreed upon at the summit meeting on 18–19 June 2004 under the presidency of Bertie Ahern.
Disputes during the drafting phase
Several issues divided the member states of the European Union during the drafting of the Constitution.
Voting weights in the Council
The draft European Constitution proposed to replace the voting system of previous treaties concerning the Council of the European Union (where each country is given a certain number of votes), with a system of qualified double majority, where decisions would need a certain percentage of the member states agreeing, which at the same time would represent at least a certain percentage of the population of the Union.
Agreement, however, failed to be reached when in September and December 2003 Spain and Poland both refused to accept this proposed framework. Under the Treaty of Nice, both Poland and Spain would from 1 November 2004, have had 27 votes each in the Council of the European Union. This was felt by some to be a disproportionate representation, since countries with much larger populations (like France, the United Kingdom, Italy and even more so Germany) only had 29 votes each.
However, the Zapatero government, upon taking office after the 2004 election, announced that it would accept the proposed Constitution, and Poland, now isolated, likewise accepted it. The only issue that remained was the question of the specific percentages needed to approve a proposal. In the final version of the constitution, these were agreed at 55 per cent of member states representing at least 65 per cent of the citizens. This is raised to 72 per cent when the Council is acting on its own initiative rather than on a legislative proposal.
Mention of Christianity in the preamble
Several countries urged for the preamble of the Constitution to include a reference to Christianity. Among these were Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, who in May 2004 sent a letter to the Irish Presidency, saying "the governments of those countries consider as a priority the recognition of the Christian tradition in the Preamble" and noting that the list of signatories was not exhaustive as they hoped other countries would join their initiative. The Greek government likewise supported a reference to Christianity.
The strongest opponents to any reference to Christianity were France and Belgium. Other countries opposing such a reference were Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, and Cyprus. Among other nations, Spain originally supported the inclusion of a reference to Christianity, but the incoming Zapatero government reversed the stance of its predecessor.
Eventually the agreed upon Constitution made no explicit references to Christianity, only mentioning the "cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe". This decision caused disappointment in the Vatican, but satisfaction from candidate state Turkey.
Ratification
The Constitution, having been agreed by heads of government from the 25 member states, was signed at a ceremony in Rome on 29 October 2004. Before it enters into force, however, it must be ratified by each state. This process is likely to take around two years to complete.
Ratification takes different forms in each country, depending on the traditions, constitutional arrangements, and political processes of the country in question. Ireland's own constitution, for example, requires that a constitutional referendum be held on all international treaties concerning a transfer of national sovereignty, while Germany's constitution prohibits a referendum. In the latter case there is ongoing debate as to whether Germany's constitution should be amended to allow a referendum on the European Constitution.
So far, ten of the 25 states have announced their intention to hold a referendum on the subject. In some cases the result will be legally binding; in others it will be consultative:
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A consultative referendum in Belgium was ruled out by the Belgian parliament, because political parties were concerned that the far-right Vlaams Belang party would use the referendum to campaign against the admission of Turkey to the EU.
The European Parliament endorsed the Constitution on 12 January 2005, with 500 members in favour, 137 against, and 40 abstentions. This was preceded by scrutiny in the Constitutional Affairs Committee which concluded with an overall endorsement. Ultimate responsibility for approving the Constitution, however, rests with the member states.
First parliamentary ratifications
In the ten new member states of 2004, the issue of the Constitution was less contentious than in many of the other countries of the EU, due to a sense that the debate on European integration had already been conducted, and acceptance of the Constitution, once finalised, was merely part of the package already signed up to.
Lithuania became the first member state to ratify the treaty on 11 November 2004. Its parliament, the Seimas, approved the treaty by 84 votes to four, with three abstentions. Major European political figures were quick to congratulate the country. A parliamentary vote on ratification in Hungary on 20 December 2004 approved the treaty by 322 votes to twelve, with eight abstentions and 43 members absent. A two-thirds majority was required in the 385-member legislature. On 1 February 2005, Slovenia became the third country to ratify when its parliament voted to endorse the treaty, with 79 votes in favour and 4 against.
Spanish referendum
Main article: Spanish referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
Spanish voters were the first to go to the polls in a referendum on ratification on 20 February 2005. Both the government and the main opposition party campaigned for a 'yes' vote. The Constitution was passed by a large margin, with 77 per cent of voters in favour, but major opposition parties declared that the 42 per cent turnout was an embarrassment for the governing Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. The referendum was not legally binding, but has paved the way for parliamentary ratification of the treaty.
Future referendums
Entry into force
Article IV-447 of the constitutional treaty states that the Constitution "shall enter into force on 1 November 2006, provided that all the instruments of ratification have been deposited [with the Government of the Italian Republic], or, failing that, on the first day of the second month following the deposit of the instrument of ratification by the last signatory State to take this step." A declaration annexed to the treaty states that "if, two years after the signature of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, four fifths of the Member States have ratified it and one or more Member States have encountered difficulties in proceeding with ratification, the matter will be referred to the European Council." This does not specify what action should be taken, but it remains the case that the Constitution cannot enter into force until the treaty has been ratified by all member states.
See also
External links
