 |
European Convention
| EU English Glossary | Download this dictionary |
European Convention
At the Nice European Council in December 2000, a declaration on the future of the Union, the Nice Declaration, was adopted. The aim of this Declaration was to pursue institutional reform beyond the results of the 2000 Intergovernmental Conference (IGC 2000). It set out three steps for this reform: the launch of a debate on the future of the European Union, a Convention on institutional reform, the implementation of which was agreed by the Laeken European Council in December 2001, and finally the convening of an IGC in 2004.
According to the Laeken Declaration, which created it, the aim of this Convention is to examine four key questions on the future of the Union: the division of powers, the simplification of the treaties, the role of the national parliaments and the status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The inaugural meeting of the Convention was held on 28 February 2002, and, according to the Laeken Declaration, its work will finish in March 2003.
Three phases are envisaged: a listening phase, a deliberating phase and a proposing phase. At the end of the last phase, a single constitutional text will be drafted. It may include various options, stating the support which each has received, or recommendations if a consensus has been reached. This document will serve as the starting point for the IGC negotiations conducted by the Heads of State and Government, who are ultimately responsible for any decision on amendments to the treaties. The plan is for this constitutional draft to be presented at the latest in June 2003 at the Thessaloniki European Council.
The Convention is an innovation in as far as previous IGCs have never been preceded by a phase of debate open to all stakeholders. In addition to the members of the Convention, civil society organisations can also contribute to the debate via an interactive forum, the Forum on the Future of the Union.
See:
•Outcome of the European Convention
•Debate on the Future of the European Union
•Intergovernmental Conference (IGC)
•Laeken Declaration
•Treaty of Nice
According to the Laeken Declaration, which created it, the aim of this Convention is to examine four key questions on the future of the Union: the division of powers, the simplification of the treaties, the role of the national parliaments and the status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The inaugural meeting of the Convention was held on 28 February 2002, and, according to the Laeken Declaration, its work will finish in March 2003.
Three phases are envisaged: a listening phase, a deliberating phase and a proposing phase. At the end of the last phase, a single constitutional text will be drafted. It may include various options, stating the support which each has received, or recommendations if a consensus has been reached. This document will serve as the starting point for the IGC negotiations conducted by the Heads of State and Government, who are ultimately responsible for any decision on amendments to the treaties. The plan is for this constitutional draft to be presented at the latest in June 2003 at the Thessaloniki European Council.
The Convention is an innovation in as far as previous IGCs have never been preceded by a phase of debate open to all stakeholders. In addition to the members of the Convention, civil society organisations can also contribute to the debate via an interactive forum, the Forum on the Future of the Union.
See:
•Outcome of the European Convention
•Debate on the Future of the European Union
•Intergovernmental Conference (IGC)
•Laeken Declaration
•Treaty of Nice
© European Communities, 1995-2004
