Burgerinitiatief in Europese Grondwet

[Herman Beun]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

De EU krijgt een burgerinitiatief: Een initiatief wetsvoorstel dat de
steun heeft van 1 miljoen burgers uit (waarschijnlijk) minstens acht
landen kan voortaan worden ingediend bij de Europese Commissie. De
Conventie van nationale en Europese parlementariërs en
regeringsvertegenwoordigers die bezig is met de nieuwe Europese Grondwet
heeft dat gisteren op de valreep beslist. De precieze details worden nog
nader ingevuld via een normale Europese wet.

De Commissie wordt niet formeel verplicht het initiatief wetsvoorstel in
te dienen (er staat "may invite the Commission to submit any appropriate
proposal"). Ook wordt over het wetsvoorstel geen referendum gehouden,
maar moet het worden aangenomen via de normale Europese
wetgevingsprocedures. Daar staat dan weer tegenover dat het, ondanks het
ontbreken van een verplichting, politiek erg moeilijk zal worden zo'n
duidelijk en formeel verzoek van de bevolking te negeren. Bovendien gaat
de EU zelfs met deze beperkte mogelijkheid voor directe betrokkenheid
van burgers al verder dan veruit de meeste lidstaten (waaronder
Nederland).

Hieronder het persbericht van het Initiatief en Referendum Instituut
Europa, een van de deelnemende organisaties in de Europese
referendumcampagne (http://www.european-referendum.org/nl).

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Herman Beun                       http://www.hermanbeun.info/
Herman.Beun at yucom.be                      Brussel, Vlaanderen
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*representative democracy is a contradiction in 4 year terms*
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PRESS RELEASE - Friday, June 13, 2003                           For immediate release


One million citizens from eight EU countries to have right of presenting
initiatives to the Commission

Convention adopts right of citizens’ initiative into the European
Constitution


Brussels/Amsterdam – At its very last sitting today (Friday), the
European Convention unexpectedly adopted an article on a citizens’
initiative right into the draft European Constitution. A minimum of 1
million citizens from a minimum number of member states (the suggested
number is 8) would have the right to present a legislative initiative to
the European Commission.

President of the Constitutional Convention, former French president
Valérie Giscard d’Estaing, described the introduction of citizens’
rights as “an important step towards a European Union closer to its
citizens”. The proposal, which had been presented at the last moment by
the presidium of twelve, was broadly welcomed at the final plenum
session. According to German foreign minister Joschka Fischer, the
initiative right would make the European Union “significantly more
transparent than it has been so far”.

Adoption of the article on direct democracy came after months of effort.
The Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe (based in Amsterdam) had
proposed the setting up of a working group on citizens’ rights at the
beginning of the Convention’s work and had co-ordinated the group – led
by the Conservative French representative Alain Lamassourre and the
German Social-Democrat representative Jürgen Meyer – together with the
German NGO “More Democracy” since January of this year. The proposals
developed by the working group for a Europe-wide constitutional
referendum and for a European initiative right had been supported by
more than 100 EU and national parliamentarians in the Convention, but
had initially been strongly rejected by the presidium.

A campaign by more than 120 NGOs – coordinated by “Democracy
International” - and committed lobbying by many Convention members
finally produced a weight of pressure which the presidium could not
resist. IRI Europe President Bruno Kaufmann stated on Friday: “The
introduction of an EU citizens’ initiative right represents an important
first real breakthrough for direct democracy at the European level”,
adding that: “It is now extremely important that the practical
procedures for the implementation of the proposed EU citizens’
constitutional rights are designed in a ‘citizen-friendly’ manner”.

A rally in front of the EU Parliament building in Brussels at midday on
Friday welcomed the adoption of the citizens’ initiative but also
demanded simultaneous national referendums on the new EU Constitution in
all 25 current and future member states on the day of the next EU
parliamentary elections in 2004. On Thursday, Portuguese Prime Minister
Jose Manuel Durao Barroso joined the Danish Prime Minister in promising
a referendum on the EU constitution.

/ / / / / /

More information is available at the IRI Europe website:
www.iri-europe.org

IRI Europe President Bruno Kaufmann can be reached today at phone + 31
20 427 50 94 or alternatively at kaufmann at iri-europe.org.

Further information on the European NGO referendum campaign can be found
at: www.european-referendum.org. Contact: Thomas Rupp, phone: +49 69 77
03 36 98, email rupp at european-referendum.org.


/ / / / / /


Below is the text of the new article proposed by Giscard d’Estaing:

“Citizens’ initiative – Art. I-46, new paragraph 4

A significant number of citizens, not less than one million, coming from
a significant number of member states, may invite the Commission to
submit any appropriate proposal on matters where citizens consider that
a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing
this Constitution. A European law shall determine the provisions
regarding the specific procedures and conditions required for such a
citizen’s  request.“

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