The Duff plan . . . . (EU constitution)

[Henk Elegeert]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

"
Liberal MEP tables 'Plan B' for EU constitution

13.10.2006 - 16:38 CET | By Mark Beunderman

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Over one year after the
constitution was rejected in two referendums, ideas
and plans are slowly emerging on how to revive the
document with one influential MEP suggesting a
new-look version should include articles on issues
like climate change which are of direct concern to
EU citizens.

UK liberal MEP Andrew Duff will on Wednesday (18
October) present his "Plan B: how to rescue the
European Constitution" amid a re-emerging debate
across Europe on the fate of the charter after
French and Dutch voters rejected it in 2005.

"We are now at two years on since the signing of the
constitution," he told EUobserver. "It is about time
we pressed on with Plan B."

In the rescue plan, the MEP staunchly defends the
core of the existing EU constitution text – part I
on institutional reform and part II on fundamental
rights - while making the document more attractive
to citizens by adding provisions which specifically
address their concerns.

"We have to try to understand the causes of the
disaffection which was expressed in France and the
Netherlands and elsewhere," he said.

"I think if one does, and I have, there are five
elements which stand out," he argued referring to
the economic governance of the union; Europe's
social model; sustainable development and climate
change policy; enlargement policy; and the reform of
the EU's finances.

The Duff plan proposes adding fresh clauses on these
five policy areas to the constitution by opening up
the current policy part of the text, part III, while
leaving parts I and II as they are.

Sarkozy and Amato
The MEP insists that simply removing the entire or
most of part III – as proposed by French interior
minister Nicolas Sarkozy and others - is not enough.
"Subediting is not a sufficient response to the
crisis," he said explaining that the changes to text
should be "political."

Mr Duff rejected various proposals to merely slim
down the constitution text without adding anything
new - which he said are also under discussion in the
"wise" group of European politicians led by Italian
interior minister Giuliano Amato.

"I suspect that the Amato group is to come out with
a...simple filleting of part III," he said. "This is
mere pathology...What I am trying to do is to
rejuvenate the creature."

The British MEP also opposes ideas to drop the name
"constitution" and instead call a revised text a
"treaty." Such a move would merely spark "contempt"
from citizens while disguising the "truth about the
scale and scope of integration," he said.

Liberal divisions
Meanwhile, Mr Duff's fellow European liberal party
(ELDR) members gathering in Bucharest on Thursday
and Friday (12-13 October) failed to reach agreement
on a liberal "vision" on the future of the EU
following disagreement on key paragraphs on the
constitution.

ELDR president and Belgian MEP Annemie Neyts had in
the run-up to the congress prepared a draft "vision
for a modern and motivating EU" but the document was
rejected by member parties and shelved until May
next year.

The draft stood in sharp contrast with Mr Duff's
plan B, as it said that "a revised text should not
be called a 'Constitution'."

The ELDR draft also questioned the institutional
Part I of the constitution by stating that "issues
such as reducing the size of the Commission...and
creating the position of EU President could be
removed from the text."

Two-draft referendum
Eurosceptics in the European Parliament, meanwhile,
are criticising the recent wave of plans to
resuscitate the EU constitution, with Danish member
Jens-Peter Bonde stating "instead of manipulating
the public by drafting a compressed constitution, we
should make a fresh start."

The veteran MEP proposes setting up a new
"convention," similar to the body of European
politicians that drafted the constitution but this
time "directly elected by the people."

The body would have 270 members - with 10
representatives per member state - and work for one
year, ideally coming up with two draft treaties -
"draft A for a kind of EU state and draft B for a
Europe of democracies."

Voters would subsequently be able to choose between
the two options - representing radically different
scales of European co-operation - in an EU-wide
referendum.

"If people go for the federalist option I will
accept that," he said adding that he would himself
promote draft B - a decentralised EU focusing its
work strictly on cross-border issues.

© EUobserver.com 2006
Printed from EUobserver.com 14.10.2006

The information may be used for personal and
non-commercial use only.

This article and related links can be found at:
http://euobserver.com/9/22641
"

Snappen doen ze het nog steeds niet ....

Henk Elegeert

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