Last week, the European Council reached an Agreement on a Constitution for Europe.
Politically and symbolically this Agreement is a major event in the EU’s history. It aims to improve the democratic legitimacy and transparency of the European Union and to bring them closer to the people.
I will illustrate this with a number of examples.
The powers of the European Parliament have been substantially increased. Cyprus will have six seats in the new European Parliament. The Council will not decide on legislative proposals any more behind closed doors.
The proceedings will be open to the public. Citizens will have the right to invite the Commission to submit an appropriate proposal to the legislator if they manage to collect one million signatures in a significant number of member states. National Parliaments such as the one from Cyprus will be informed about all the new initiatives from the Commission.
The Constitution and the Institutions are not an end in themselves; they are there to serve a political project.
That is why this new Constitution is so important. It is essential to maintain and develop European integration and a smooth functioning of the Institutions of the Enlarged Union. Indeed, the EU is now in a transformation process after its enlargement to 25 member states. The new Constitution will guarantee strong institutions for an enlarged union whereby soon crucial decisions also will be taken as regards Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. Accession negotiations will begin with Croatia from the beginning of 2005. A Commissioner from Cyprus will be present in the Commission until 2014.
From then on the Commission will comprise a number of Commission corresponding to two thirds of the number of member states. A system of equal rotation will take place. A strong and effective Commission is very important for the future of the European Union.
As regards work in the Council, a good compromise has been found on qualified majority voting.
This was one of the main outstanding issues. The effectiveness of the Council will also be improved with the establishments of presidency teams of three countries. Cyprus will be among the countries that will take part in these teams.
Since last Friday, we have now a single foundation for the Union i.e. the Constitution.
It replaces all the different Treaties. We will have a new Minister of Foreign Affairs which will strengthen the external role of the Commission. It is important to bring in line the role of the EU on the world scene with the weight the Union presents after its enlargement. The Minister of Foreign Affairs will also preside in the Councils in External Relations.
This will strengthen the visibility of the Union towards our partners.
The Constitution significantly updates our provisions in the field of Justice and Home Affairs.
This is done to facilitate and improve the area of freedom, security and justice. This is very important because our citizens rightly desire a strong union policy on the fight against crimes, illegal immigration and illicit drugs trafficking. The integration for the Charter for Fundamental Rights is the acknowledgment of the Unions values and objectives as well as the principles underlying the relationship between the Union and its member states.
The Charter will guarantee an even better protection for fundamental rights.
The Union faces now the important task to seek early ratification of the Constitution.
In various countries a referendum will be held. I shall be very interested in a debate on the Constitution in Cyprus. In the months and years to come, I will try to inform the citizens on the Constitution in an objective way. I am really looking forward to that.
