TheNeuschwabenlandTimes : Message: Germany shaping the New Federal Europe

Schröder warns eurocrats - hands off constitution

German Chancellor GERHARD SCHRÖDER wants to make sure the EU Constitution is not changed "in the hands of Brussels". (Photo: EU Commission)

The German government is worried that EU bureaucrats will tear the Constitution draft apart.

The German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has therefore announced that from now on, any consultations on the Constitution blueprint should be made only in the highest political circles, writes the German newspaper, Der Spiegel.

Berlin apparently wants to make sure that the result of the 16-month long Convention debate is not altered "in the hands of Brussels".

In order to do so, Germany wants to secure that the upcoming intergovernmental conference (IGC) that will turn the Constitution blueprint into binding paragraphs, is not prepared by EU civil servants. It should instead be prepared by the governments and foreign ministries of the EU.

The Constitution draft that was almost finalised last week will be discussed in the EU summit in Thessaloniki starting today, 19 June. EU leaders are expected to define the mandate and the timing for the IGC that should start this fall.

But it is not yet clear whether EU heads of state will leave the Constitution blueprint virtually unchanged or whether they will take it as a "good basis for further discussions". The latter could result in a quite different set up of EU powers and policies than what have been proposed by the Convention.

Mr Schröder's scenario, according to Der Spiegel, is the following: the IGC should end in December 2003 so that the European citizens know what they vote on in the next European Parliament elections in June next year. Mr Schröder would like to see the EU Constitution being ratified in 2006, the German broadsheet reported.

Written by Dace Akule
Edited by Andrew Beatty

Article published 19.06.2003 - 09:52 CET
Printed from EUobserver 19.06.2003

Copyright EUobserver 2000, 2001, 2002
The information may be used for personal and non-commercial use only
This article and related links can be found at:
http://www.EUobserver.com/index.phtml?aid=11778&sid=9

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