A
Constitution for the Citizens of Europe
The European
Constitution arose from the need to bring Europe closer
to its citizens. The simplification and clarification of
the European Union are the European Constitution's vital
objectives.
Europe was built on a series of treaties
over a period of fifty years.
The succession
of these treaties has made Europe increasingly difficult
for its citizens to understand. The existence of a
single Constitution for Europe that would replace the
existing treaties and also the complex set of
agreements, conventions, declarations and other
protocol,
provides
unity to the architecture of the European Union,
enabling it to become increasingly
comprehensible and subsequently
more democratic.
This need is further expressed in the
creation of a "single constitutional framework"
supported by
the European Parliament, the European Council, the
Council of Ministers, and the European Commission -
the functions
of which have been clarified, along with
the European Central Bank and the Court of Justice.
The unprecedented effort to
rationalize
and clarify goes hand in hand with the abolition of the
tripartite organization,
the European Community, the common security and foreign
policy, and the internal justice and affairs that
resulted from the Maastricht Treaty. Consequentially, the
co-existence of the various domains, which apply to the
first area, and the intergovernmental policies, that
apply to the two others, will be terminated.
Finally, by granting the European Union with a 'legal
personality',
its complexity as a group of Member States and three
European Communities will be concluded.
The Union becomes
a full fledged, legal entity
enabling it, for example, to make
agreements with international organizations.
Simplified Means of Action
One of the main dangers threatening
Europe lies in
the citizens’ incomprehensibility regarding its
objections and functions. The
simplification of its means of action and procedure
can eliminate this danger.
The Constitution reduces the number of means of action
at the Union's disposal (6 instead of 15) and also
establishes a simplified system of
official terms.
In reality,
the Constitution establishes legislative acts comprising
European laws and
a
European
legal
framework
that replace existing regulations and directives.
This clarification
simplifies
the decision-making process.
Concerning the simplification of
procedures, the adoption of European laws via
co-decision between the European Parliament and the
Council of Ministers is reinforced with qualified
majority voting in the Council of Ministers.
Sharing Clarified Competence
The Constitution finally provides a clear
definition of the Union's competences, as well as defines its responsibilities while
differentiating them from those concerning national,
European, and both parties' responsibilities.
Firstly,
it defines the principles: Union competence are those
granted to it by the Member States in the Constitution
(principle of attribution).
All
other competences remain in the power of the Member
States.
The
Union acts within the domains where the
States have decided to pool their power in order to be
more efficient (principle of subsidiarity) with respect
to what is necessary (principle of proportionality).
Finally,
the competence of the Union emerges
from the following distinction:
- Exclusive competence in areas where the
Union legislates alone, for example, monetary policy of
States in the Euro Zone, the Common Trading Policy and
the Customs Union
- Shared Competence in those areas where
the Union and the Member States share legislative power,
for example,
internal security and justice
- Finally,
the Union may support certain policies,
via co-ordination and complementary action, under the
responsibility of the States, such as education on a
European level comprised of university exchange programs
and foreign languages in the curriculum.
This clarification of the sharing of
competence between the Union and the Member States is
vital
for the citizens to comprehend
"who does what?"
©
>
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