FRANCE: Mr Valery Giscard d'Estaing has warned that Europe's citizens will reject a proposed EU constitution if governments make too many changes to the text agreed at the Convention on the Future of Europe, writes Denis Staunton European Correspondent
At the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Mr Giscard, who chaired the convention, said next month's Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) was unlikely to improve the text.
"After the IGC, the real trial by fire will take place, and that is ratification. This ratification is not something we can take for granted. If the draft constitution is substantially diminished by the IGC, it is unlikely to be ratified," he said yesterday.
Italy's deputy prime minister, Mr Gianfranco Fini, said his country, which holds the EU presidency, wants the IGC to avoid making any major changes.
"President Giscard is right to say the more the IGC moves away from the agreement reached by the convention, the more difficult it will be to find a new point of balance," he said.
However, Mr Fini said he will push for the insertion of the reference to Christianity which the draft text omits."The Italian government has been quite clear right from the outset of the convention and we have not changed our opinion. We feel that it is necessary to include this reference."
The Commission president, Mr Romano Prodi, insisted that the IGC had a political responsibility to review and improve on the convention's work rather than operating as a "rubber stamp". He criticised the draft constitution's proposal to give voting rights to only half the members of the Commission, which he said would undermine the body's legitimacy.
"The solution put forward creates a distinction between commissioners by creating a second, unnecessarily lesser category. No people of the Union deserve to be represented by a second-class commissioner. The consequence would be to split the college, where the link with the member-states has been the Commission's driving force for the last 50 years. More progress is needed to make sure every member country has a full commissioner," he said.
Mr Prodi also criticised the draft's failure to abolish national vetoes in more than 50 policy areas and suggested the IGC should look again at one of the most sensitive issues for Ireland - majority voting on tax questions.
"Everyone agrees that one of the shortcomings in the current situation is the lack of a proper instrument for co-ordination of member-states' budget policies. But I wonder how people think such co-ordination can be achieved if the 25 future member countries can continue to exercise a power of veto freely in the area of indirect and company taxation," he said.
Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg want the IGC to make as few changes as possible to the draft text. Small countries are unhappy with a number of important elements in the text, including the reform of the Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.
Ireland and Britain are broadly satisfied with the proposals for institutional reform but are resisting the extension of majority voting in some areas, including taxation and issues relating to criminal law. Both countries are also uneasy about a proposal to allow closer EU co-operation in defence matters and want a more limited role for a proposed EU foreign minister.
MEPs are pleased that the draft constitution would give the European Parliament a role in 90 per cent of EU legislation and that EU leaders will have to take into account the European election results when choosing the Commission president. The parliament will be consulted during the IGC, which starts on October 4th, but all decisions will be made by national governments.