June 17, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 16, 1424

Few can deny that these are historic times for the European Union. While international attention has focused on persistent transatlantic acrimony over Iraq, the 15 nation-bloc has been celebrating two key events: the rising number of central and eastern European states, including Poland and the Czech Republic, which have voted overwhelmingly to join the EU and the historic deal hammered out on June 13 on a new draft constitution for Europe.

The landmark draft treaty, drawn up by a 105-member convention or forum headed by former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, represents the first time that Europe has debated its future so openly. The text will be presented to EU leaders in Thessaloniki, Greece, on June 20.

Aimed at preparing the EU for the May 2004 entry of 10 new members, it is the result of 16 months of hard debate and bargaining among EU governments and parliamentarians from both the European assembly and national parliaments.

The draft is certainly less ambitious than originally anticipated and in the words of the autocratic Giscard himself, it is an “imperfect document.” EU governments, starting their own negotiations on the constitution in October, have already made clear that they will revisit many of the issues tackled by members of the treaty-drafting convention.

But even the most sceptical EU-watchers agree: for all its shortfalls, the draft document heralds the launch of a new-look, more confident and ultimately more globally assertive Europe.

Reflecting quasi-universal appreciation of the draft, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has called the accord “historic” while his French counterpart Dominique de Villepin says he is confident the constitution will give Europe a more prominent role in international affairs. “We are setting up a new political age, more efficient, more democratic, assuming Europe’s full role on the world stage,” he said after the deal was announced.

The new treaty is certainly simpler than the current one. Voting rules are streamlined and institutions revamped to prepare the bloc’s expansion to 25 states next year — and possibly 27 countries with Bulgaria and Romania joining in 2007. The EU has said it wants to open the doors to Turkey, although no dates have been set for the move. Membership will also be offered to Western Balkan states, but not immediately.

Key reforms in the document include the appointment of a long-term president of the European Council for up to five years, replacing the current rotating presidency, under which each member state takes the helm for six months. The draft also proposes an EU foreign minister and a slimmed-down executive European Commission of 15 full members, based on the principle of strict rotation to ensure equality of states. It foresees a much greater degree of majority decision-making although not in sensitive areas such as foreign policy or taxation.

Despite pressure from the Vatican, the draft constitution’s preamble has no reference to God or Christianity but does speak of Europe’s “cultural, religious and humanist inheritance.”

Tough talks on some of these issues loom ahead. The European Commission has already warned that it will not countenance the nomination of a first-ever permanent president of the EU Council for fear of creating a rival institution and a new bureaucracy. It is also resisting suggestions that the number of full-fledged commissioners should be trimmed down to 15 — with 10 others having no voting or decision-making rights.

Meanwhile, Spain, backed by Poland and many smaller states, has urged the retention of complex voting rules contained in the EU’s Nice Treaty, which came into force this year. In Giscard’s draft, EU decisions would go through if backed by at least half of member states representing 60 per cent of the EU’s total population while the Nice Treaty gave Poland and Spain 27 votes each, only two fewer than Germany, which has more than twice their population. France, Britain and Italy also have 29 votes each.

Giscard has said that these and other questions will be dealt with in July. But in a sign of trouble ahead, EU governments have set no firm deadline for the end of their own deliberations on the treaty, following the kick-start of inter-governmental negotiations in October.

Convention members are insisting that governments must not start unravelling their painstakingly-agreed draft treaty. But given Europe’s history of fierce debate and disagreement, few expect the upcoming months to be easy and harmonious.