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Schröder calls for European Union constitution
By Ralph Atkins in Berlin and Brian Groom in London
Published: January 19 2001 21:54GMT | Last Updated: January 20 2001 14:54GMT
Gerhard Schröder, Germany's chancellor, on Friday stepped up the pressure for the creation of a European Union constitution in comments which threatened to provoke a fresh rift with France.
Mr Schröder's call in Berlin for a "form of basic law" for the EU was echoed by Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, and came less than two weeks before a special Franco-German summit intended to bridge differences between the two countries. The alliance forged between Mr Schröder and Mr Prodi will increase the pressure on Jacques Chirac, the French president, to clarify his stance on the EU's future ahead of the summit meeting in Strasbourg.
Mr Chirac has proposed a more piecemeal approach, including co-operation between smaller groups of EU member states. Last month, the French president attempted unsuccessfully to block plans for a European constitutional conference in 2004 which Mr Schröder initiated.
Tony Blair, the UK prime minister, would resist a European constitution even though he shares Germany's desire to clarify the responsibilities of the EU and national governments. He wants to codify this in a "statement of principles".
The UK opposition Conservative Party would condemn any move towards a constitution as a step to a European superstate, which it dreads.
Speaking at a conference in Berlin organised by the International Bertelsmann forum, Mr Schröder urged that the charter of basic rights agreed by EU leaders at the Nice summit in December should be incorporated into EU treaties, a proposal Mr Blair would resist.
"What we need to complete this European basic law is a simplification and reorganisation of the treaties, a clear separation of powers between the Brussels institutions, and above all a clearer division of responsibilities between Brussels, the member states and the regions," Mr Schröder added.
The German chancellor is under pressure from the country's powerful federal states to push for a clear division of responsibilities within Europe. But he argued that Europe's citizens also had a "right to know who is responsible for which questions and decisions".
Mr Schröder also said aspirant European Union members in eastern Europe should be "fully included" in the debate up to 2004.
Similarly, Mr Prodi argued the EU should move progressively towards agreeing a constitution. In comments that Paris and London may find particularly hard to swallow, Mr Prodi insisted that an "inter-governmental model, with its conflicting, fragmented decision-making system" was no basis for developing a stronger EU. He went on: "Intergovernmentalism . . . is a recipe for indecision or, at best, for progress based on the lowest common denominator.
"It is also a recipe for mutual distrust between member states in the absence of an honest broker."
Speaking at the same conference, Hubert Vedrine, the French foreign minister, argued that a clear division of responsibilities within Europe was "a democratic requirement" but stopped short of backing a EU constitution.
news.ft.com
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hmm... perhaps this is the begining of the end ot the European Union (which i personally believe it will fail), however a big positive will emerge in which will make each state (country) act in ways more "fiscally responsible" to attain a better economic competitive stance within the European region.
the mentalities seem to be far too different so they could form a "super state" with a constitution. it will be very interesting how this develops. |
