Mr President, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, the consensus on the draft Constitution which we reached in the Convention last Friday has been described as historic, and indeed it is – for look at what has been achieved. We have drafted a Constitution for over 25 sovereign states and peoples who, for centuries, were pitched head-to-head in plunder, war and devastation. That is without parallel in history. We have drafted a Constitution for a multitude of peoples and states who all have long histories of their own, who speak different languages, who maintain their own identity and yet who want to shape their destinies together. That is without precedent in the history of Europe and the world. What is new about it? I would like to mention just six points which I think are especially important. Firstly, the Constitution sets forth the rights and duties of citizens. We have made the Charter of Fundamental Rights an integral and legally binding element of the European Constitution. Secondly, the famous ‘four freedoms’ of the Treaty of Rome were also promises for the future. Today, these promises have been fulfilled. The new Constitution contains a new pledge in Article 2 and Article 3, namely sustainable development, justice, security and solidarity for Europe’s citizens. Thirdly, the most important contribution to democracy and to the ‘ownership’ of European policies is clarity. Citizens must be able to identify which areas can be regulated by the European Union and which cannot. They must also be able to identify who bears responsibility for political decisions and who does not. In this respect, the Constitution makes significant progress. We have created a division of competences which, for the first time, defines the competences between the Member States and the European Union more clearly than before, and I would remind the older Members of this House that Parliament has failed twice in the past to achieve this goal. We have greatly simplified and reduced the number of decision-making procedures. Fourthly, the European Parliament: codecision on matters of legislation will be the rule in future. Today it is the exception, but in future, it will be the rule, and that is a quantum leap compared with the current situation. After all, the President of the Commission will be elected by this Parliament. This enhances his political legitimacy and will increase the importance of the European elections. Fifthly, we have tackled the issue of institutional balance. We have strengthened all three institutions: the European Parliament, of course, but also the Commission, especially the Commission President, whose role is considerably enhanced, and we have also strengthened the Council, in the person of the President of the European Council. Sixthly, the European Union is not a global power, but it has a global power's responsibility. At present, it cannot do justice to this responsibility, but we have tried to ensure that it can do so in future. We have created the position of a European Minister for Foreign Affairs. However, we realise that simply creating this position certainly does not achieve commonality on foreign, security and defence policy issues. That cannot be regulated by a decision; it is a process, and the position of Foreign Minister will have to ensure that this process towards commonality is initiated and kept on track. Finally, I would like to point out that there were no models for what we have drafted. This constitution cannot be a copy of any nation-state's constitution. The nation-state of the nineteenth century is not the blueprint for Europe's architecture in the twenty-first century. We had to reinvent ourselves in the Convention, not only in substantive terms: we also had to reinvent our working methods. We have not always achieved what we set out to achieve, but no Intergovernmental Conference since the Treaty of Rome has produced such significant changes, with such a far-reaching impact, as those now envisaged by the Constitution. With this Constitution, we can put the European Union, the 50-year-old organisation of European states, on a new footing. Treaties are based on mistrust born of past experience. Constitutions are based on confidence in the future, and with this Constitution, the citizens of Europe are linking their destinies to create a better future. Let us, here in the European Parliament, clear the way for this process and make sure that the governments face up to their European responsibility. (Applause)

Political group: PSE