The future of Europe in the form of an EU constitution which would replace all existing treaties was likely to be put to the Irish people in a referendum within the next three years, the National Forum on Europe was told yesterday.
The forum chairman, Senator Maurice Hayes, introduced a summary of the draft constitutional treaty for the European Union, which sets out the main proposals and contains a glossary of "Euro jargon".
The publication comes just ahead of an Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) in Rome starting tomorrow, which will be attended by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen.
On the agenda will be the repeal of all the previous treaties of the EU and their consolidation into the proposed single constitutional treaty.
Mr Hayes said the treaty agreed by the IGC would have to be ratified by all member-states. "It is likely to be put to the Irish people in a referendum in or before 2006," he said.
The aim of the summary, which sets out to give the main proposals in plain language, was to provide objective information and to promote debate, he said.
It was eminently desirable that Ireland's input at the IGC should be grounded in vigorous political and public debate at home, he said.
"We will now follow up vigorously, with a view to animating a wide exercise in political education and debate as the IGC gets down to its work on this most important document for the future of Europe," he said.
In compiling the summary, the forum had aimed to be strictly factual and to avoid any comment or spin and had been cleared by all participating parties, Mr Hayes added.
In the summary it is stated that, as a constitutional treaty, it would, if ratified by all member-states, exist alongside the constitutions of the member-states and would empower the EU to act only in specific areas.
The summary outlines the proposals, which include the establishment of new posts, among them a president of the European Council and an EU minister for foreign affairs.
The draft also proposes a common defence policy and states that any decision on the issue would have to be ratified in a referendum. Any policy in these areas would respect the neutrality of member-states.
The summary says that the treaty consolidates generally what was in previous treaties about the EU's finances and budget. A charter of fundamental rights which had previously been agreed would under the new treaty have binding legal force.
The summary will be on sale to the public and will be accessible on the forum's website at www.forumoneurope.ie
The draft constitutional treaty is likely to cause controversy throughout the EU. The European Commission has already outlined substantial changes it wants, including the abolition of the national veto on some tax matters and the retention of the right of every member-state to nominate a commissioner with full voting rights.
Yesterday Sinn Féin said the draft made fundamental changes in the structures of the EU and gave them more powers, "taking the single biggest step so far in the creation of an EU super-state".