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PAGE EUROPEAN REVIEW
We have another stab at explaining things European in
What have I heard about this lately?
In December an IGC was held in Brussels under the president of the Council of Ministers or European Council, Italy.
What was it trying to do?
The EU Member Governments are discussing a new constitution based on a draft written by the Constitutional Convention which sat for most of 2003.
Why did they meet at that time?
Because the EU will expand next Spring from 15 to 25 members, changes were necessary to keep it running smoothly.
Have there been any before now?
Yes. Whenever the 'founding treaties', starting with the Treaty of Rome which set up the then EEC in 1957, of the EU have to be changed the consent of all the Member States must be sought.
How many have there been?
This is the sixth.
What did the others do?
The first IGC in 1985 brought in the Single European Market. The second established Economic and Monetary Union, which led to the euro, and the third was the Maastricht treaty (see issue 22). This was followed by the Amsterdam treaty (issue 23) in 1997. Finally the Nice treaty in 2001 was widely criticised as the big nations 'carving-up' the powers of the Commission and the Council before the new members joined.
When will this one be finished?
The Italian government wanted a summit of the European Council to approve the new treaty before the end of their presidency in January. Disagreements over the draft look certain to prevent this though in the words of the German foreign minister 'whoever opens it must close it again'.
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