| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.12, No.2, 19.1.06 |
| Publication Date | 19/01/2006 |
| Content Type | News |
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By David Cronin Date: 19/01/06 MEPs are to proceed with plans to bring together national parliaments to revive the debate on the EU constitution, even though three assemblies have rejected the idea. The European Parliament is expected today (19 January) to approve a call for gatherings of MEPs and national parliamentarians to reflect on how the constitution can be salvaged after French and Dutch voters rejected it last year. The first meeting of such a forum is scheduled for 9 May, which is celebrated as Europe day. Earlier this week that proposal was rejected by the presidents of the Bundestag, Austria's Nationalrat and Finland's Eduskunta. In a joint letter to political group leaders in the Parliament, the three national assembly chiefs argued that there was "neither a need nor a mechanism to find a joint strategy of national parliaments on how to engage in a lasting debate". The letter also pointed out that "national parliaments have very different approaches" to the debate on the constitution. So far 13 EU countries have ratified the constitution, while 12 have not. British Liberal Andrew Duff said that he found it "curious" that the three parliaments "seem somewhat reluctant to co-operate with us". The forums were necessary, he said, to debate "fundamental, perhaps even primitive questions" about the nature and purpose of European integration. Duff has co-authored a report on resuming the debate on the constitution with Austrian Green Johannes Voggenhuber. Some Eurosceptic deputies protested at the debate on the report by brandishing imitation ostriches yesterday. Yet Voggenhuber insisted that he was "not blind" to the rejection of the constitution in France and the Netherlands. He argued instead that he was seeking to take the process of European integration away from the political elite and "back to the citizens". Hans Winkler, the state secretary in Austria's foreign ministry, welcomed how MEPs had resumed discussing the constitution's fate at a time when EU governments "are not ready to start a serious debate". Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has sought to revive the debate on the constitution and the Spanish government, whose voters have endorsed the constitution, is insisted that the document should remain unchanged. But the Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot said the constitution was "dead" as far as his country was concerned. In France, the presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a slimmed-down version of the constitution to be ratified by the national assembly, without it being put to a referendum. Article reports that on 19 January 2006 the European Parliament was expected to approve a call for gatherings of MEPs and national parliamentarians to reflect on how the Constitutional Treaty could be salvaged after French and Dutch voters rejected it last year. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
