The objectives of the draft Constitution are, mainly, to simplify the over-lapping series of Treaties and Protocols providing the current legal constitution for Europe, and to enhance the functioning of the future Union when 10 new countries from Eastern Europe join the existing 15 member states on 1 May 2004 (see EU enlargement).
Table of contents |
2 Topics and Issues of the Constitution |
The draft constitution makes provision for:
Provisions of Constitution
Topics and Issues of the Constitution
The treaty, if and when its text is finalised, will be subject to ratification by each country, either by parliamentary ratification or national referendum, according to the tradition of the country concerned. If approved by all Member States (including the new ones), it will be put into force as soon as possible, though the treaty currently establishes 2009 as the year when all its provisions will be in force.
Talks in Brussels on 14 December 2003, originally intended to finalise the text for the constitution, stalled over this one issue and were abandoned. The constitution now looks highly
unlikely to be adopted in its current form.See also
External links