Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on "Towards a constitution for European citizens"
Date: 2002-10-10
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European Constitution, European treaties, citizens' Europe, democracy, governance, institutional reform, principle of subsidiarity, public awareness campaign

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Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘Towards a constitution for European citizens’

(2003/C 66/05)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Presidency conclusions of the European Council of 14 and 15 December 2001 and,
in particular, the Laeken Declaration on the future of the Union;

having regard to the Commission Communication — A project for the European Union (COM(2001)
247 final);

having regard to the European Commission’s White Paper on European Governance of 25 July 2001
(COM(2001) 428 final);

having regard to its contribution of 4 July 2002 to the European Convention (CdR 127/2002 fin);

having regard to its resolution of 14 November 2001 on the preparations for the Laeken European
Council and the further development of the European Union in the context of the next intergovernmental
conference in 2004 (CdR 104/2001 fin) (1);

having regard to its report on proximity of 20 September 2001 (CdR 436/2000 fin) and the Salamanca
Declaration of 22 June 2001 (CdR 107/2001 fin);

having regard to its resolution of 4 April 2001 on the outcome of the 2000 Intergovernmental
Conference and the discussion on the future of the European Union (CdR 430/2000 fin) (2);

having regard to its opinions of 15 September 1999 and 13 April 2000 on the Commission reports to
the Council on better law making 1998 and better law making 1999 (CdR 50/1999 fin and CdR 18/
2000 fin) (3);

having regard to its resolution of 20 September 2000 for a European constitutional framework (CdR 144/
2000 fin) (4);

having regard to its opinions of 14 December 2000 on new forms of governance: Europe, a framework
for citizens’ initiative (CdR 182/2000 fin) (5) and of 13 March 2002 on the White Paper on European
Governance (CdR 103/2001 fin) (6);

having regard to its opinion of 13 March 2002 on the draft report of the European Parliament on the
division of powers between the European Union and the Member States (CdR 466/2001 fin) (7);

having regard to the decision of its Bureau of 12 June 2001 to draw up an opinion providing a more
detailed analysis of the repercussions of the process of simplifying, unifying and constitutionalising the
Treaties, and to instruct the Commission for Constitutional Affairs and European Governance to carry
out the preparatory work on the subject;

having regard to the draft opinion adopted by its Commission for Constitutional Affairs and European
Governance on 9 July 2002 (rapporteur: Mrs Bresso (I-PES), President of the Province of Turin) (CdR 114/
2002 rev. 2);

whereas it was given active observer status on the Convention established by the Laeken European
Council, which also considered moves towards a Constitution for European citizens to be an issue which
must be addressed with a view to achieving a renewed Union;

(1) OJ C 107, 3.5.2002, p. 36.
(2) OJ C 253, 12.9.2001, p. 25.
(3) OJ C 374, 23.12.1999, p. 11 and OJ C 226, 8.8.2000, p. 60.
(4) OJ C 22, 24.1.2001, p. 4.
(5) OJ C 144, 16.5.2001, p. 1.
(6) OJ C 192, 12.8.2002, p. 24.
(7) OJ C 192, 12.8.2002, p. 31.

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whereas with a view to mapping out a path towards a European Constitution, in the Laeken Declaration
the Heads of State or Government referred on several occasions to the need to simplify the way the
Treaties were organised in order to lend the European Union and its decision-making procedures greater
transparency, thereby bringing them closer to citizens;

whereas regions and local authorities are, by their nature, closer to citizens than any other decision-
making level and day-to-day implement the greatest number of Community decisions, making Europe
relevant to the lives of their inhabitants;

whereas concerning the process of constitutionalisation, it has long held the view that there is a vital need
for an initiative designed to make the Treaties more transparent and easy to understand for the public;

whereas the European Council has accepted this need, considering it to be among the challenges and
reforms required for a renewed Union as set out in the Laeken Declaration;

whereas Europe’s local and regional authorities cannot simply watch as passive spectators in the post-
Nice debate on the future of the European Union, in preparation for future reform of the Union,

adopted the following opinion at its 46th plenary session of 10 October 2002.

POINTS OF VIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

to the general and abstract aspects proper to basic law, leaving
the task of detailed implementation — in full compliance with
Community principles — to regulations drawn up in complete
accordance with subsidiarity and the precepts and workings of
governance,

1. Simplification of the Treaties

The Committee of the Regions

1.1.
intends to examine the methods and motives for
simplifying, unifying and constitutionalising the Treaties,
which as they stand do not fully meet the need for democracy,
transparency and simplification felt by both the public and the
local and regional authorities directly involved in applying
legislation,

recalls that the European Union is at present founded
1.2.
on four separate treaties and pursues its various policies by
means of procedures which vary in accordance with the
subject-matter. Objectives, responsibilities and political instru-
ments are therefore governed separately by these treaties. This
situation, which is the result of
the way the European
integration process has developed over the last fifty years, now
gives rise to confusion, and sometimes inconsistency, and
means that the Union can no longer act with the necessary
efficacy. As the most ambitious enlargement in its history
approaches, the Union must address this problem and achieve
successful rationalisation,

believes that the fact that the provisions contained in
1.3.
the Treaties are now extremely difficult to understand cannot
be overlooked in a process whose main aim is to bring the
Community closer to the citizen. Transparent legislation is,
above all, legislation which can be read and understood by
everyone,

1.4.
considers that this question — which is now urgent if
the positive value of the European venture is to be conveyed
to its citizens — is accompanied by the need to put Community
laws on a more essential footing. They should be pared back

notes in this regard that the distinction between the
1.5.
Union and the Community ought to be looked at afresh, in
order to secure working arrangements which facilitate effective
action on matters of real importance to citizens,

considers that such a process would match the shift
1.6.
from the present Treaties to a constitutional treaty, working
through a mechanism which not only systematises but
abstracts the general principles which should then serve to
guide Community legislation. A similar change would pave
the way for simplification which, by expressing the European
Union’s goals in terms of essential principles, would make it
easier for citizens to understand why they are being united,

1.7.
recalls that the experience of the Treaty of Nice has
demonstrated how overall reform of the Treaties should be
approached, in response primarily to two requirements: to
democratise the institutions and make them more efficient in
the run-up to enlargement. The response has not matched up
to the challenges faced by Europe, but has at least served to
reveal the full limitations of the exclusively intergovernmental
approach to revising the Treaties. These limitations were
recognised by the governments themselves in Declaration 23,
and are the reason behind the Declaration’s call
for the
involvement of a wide range of players who have so far been
kept at the margins of decision-making, but who represent the
expression of the wishes of the individual citizens of the
Union,

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1.8.
warns that progress on strengthening the EU’s capacity
to act and the associated decision-making procedures is
necessary, including in the interests of enlargement,

emphasises that while the essential

features of the
1.9.
Community method should be retained, responsibilities must
be redefined and fine-tuned, and that any transfer of powers
must be flanked by appropriate institutional instruments for
effective decision-making,

between Nice and the 2004 IGC. Local and regional authorities
are the best-placed actors to ensure that everyday realities and
citizens’ aspirations — which are more readily detected in the
regional and local sphere — are reflected in EU-level decisions.
Only by assuring such a link can the European venture regain
its purpose and validity, by restoring the relationship between
citizens and the Union.

1.10.
singles out the importance of economic, social and
territorial cohesion being clearly recognised as one of the
European Union’s key tasks, responsibility for which is shared
between the European Union, the Member States and local
and regional authorities,

2. Recasting the Treaties

The Committee of the Regions

1.11.
is convinced that the establishment of the European
Convention has opened the way to a constitution in which
citizens must be able to make their voices heard on what
future they wish to see for Europe, either directly or through
the different types of representation, and that the work of the
Convention could culminate in the achievement of a broad
consensus on a draft European Union Constitution matching
public expectations, and with which citizens can identify,

1.12.
recalls that making good the democratic deficit in the
European integration process is a long-standing political
priority of the CoR,

1.13.
also points out that CoR members represent citizens
vis-à-vis the European institutions, and vice versa. They are the
linchpin between regional and local sensibilities and the
European level. The CoR also hopes that legislative simplifi-
cation, such as that planned, will be accompanied by efforts to
disseminate Community information at grassroots level using
both traditional and non-traditional communication tech-
niques, concentrating especially on young people, the future
generations of EU citizens. The creation and growth of a real
sense of belonging can only be ensured by a deep awareness
of the EU’s guiding principles,

1.14.
emphasises that this aspect was discussed in detail
during the first conference on proximity in Salamanca and in
the preceding preparatory debate. In stating its conviction that
the principle of proximity is essential for good governance in
the EU, the CoR also showed how the local and regional
dimension can make the contribution of regional and local
authorities to the EU’s democratic functioning more tangible.
This can be achieved first of all by active involvement in the
debate on the future of the Union which the EU is to pursue

2.1.
recalls that Annex IV to the Nice Treaty, containing
the declaration on the future of the Union, together with the
Laeken conclusions and the proceedings of the Convention,
have provided specifically for the promotion of broad dis-
cussions with all interested parties. The local and regional
authorities are very much concerned by this process and
should be given the opportunity to share their views on
recasting the Treaties — an issue that concerns them not only
as grass-roots representatives of the public but also as actors
who are increasingly involved in implementing Community
policies and applying Community legislation,

considers that without any doubt, the chief problem
2.2.
facing the Treaties today is their lack of comprehensibility. The
primary task of simplification must be to ensure that the
general public in the EU can read them and grasp why the
Union exists and what its objectives are. In this regard, local
and regional institutions would highlight their natural role as
a reference point for all European citizens, and as an ideal
forum for information and consultation,

2.3.
points out that this is closely followed by the issue of
bringing the Community legislative system back into line with
the principles of a ranking of sources, of a legislative system
starting with general, universal aspects and moving down to
specific aspects, ensuring that fundamental principles are
respected at every level. While retaining their formal status of
international treaties, the Treaties must guarantee the existence
of a legal system which represents a unique case, and whose
underlying principles must be enshrined in fundamental
law. This fundamental
then be fleshed out with
implementing legislation, which may be established at other
levels and not necessarily always in exactly the same way, but
in line with the characteristics and constitutional arrangements
of the Member States,

law will

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considers that

2.4.
implementing a grass-roots policy
requires that regional and local authorities have some leeway
in how Community decisions are enacted. The effect of
guaranteeing a European model based on every detail of
legislation safeguarding competition is to lessen the role of
such authorities and,
in particular, to encroach upon the
jurisdiction of regions with legislative powers. Such safeguards
should instead take the form of vigorously advocating a
number of general principles, subsequently implemented in
detail by laws and regulations laid down by Member States,
regions and local authorities on a common-sense, self-govern-
level in
ing basis. Governance, regardless of the territorial
question, necessarily involves consultations, especially at local
and regional
level where representative democracy and its
supervisory capacity are most keenly felt,

3.2.
emphasises that it has repeatedly urged that the charter
be made binding and serve as an integral part of a broader
European constitutional structure, in order to ensure that the
rights set out therein are inalienable; it has also clearly indicated
that local and regional authorities are in favour of this new
constituent phase, and intend to ensure that they play an active
part in it. The rights based on the Member States’ shared values
should be anchored in the EU Treaty. This is particularly true
of human and civil rights, since economic and social rights in
many Member States largely come within the local and
regional authorities’ spheres of responsibility and should
therefore remain policy objectives at EU level. It hopes that a
solution to the problem of the EU’s legal personality will make
it possible for it to accede to the European Convention on
Human Rights, which has already been signed by all EU
Member States,

2.5.
points out, in this regard, that under national consti-
tutions, regional and local authorities possess significant and
sometimes exclusive powers in numerous key sectors and are
therefore ideally placed to act as interpreters, voicing citizens’
aspirations concerning the European Union. The rudimentary
nature of ‘political Europe’
in recent years has unarguably
tarnished its image in the eyes of the general public, weakening
their sense of belonging. If this link is to be restored, it is vital
for the Union to open up to citizens, adopting a political
programme and lines of action. The exclusively intergovern-
mental method must be replaced with a method for amending
the treaties, heralded by the Convention and making it possible
to draw up a European constitutional treaty under conditions
of transparency: the CoR has already spoken out in support of
such an approach. To achieve this, there must be institutional
changes which are far-reaching and inclusive in a way that
only constitutional reforms can be,

believes that the distinction between the basic Treaty
2.6.
and the other provisions it now contains should be mirrored
by separate procedures for amendment with different types of
qualified majority required for each.

3. The Charter of Fundamental Rights

The Committee of the Regions

considers that the EU must think again about a ‘pact’
3.1.
with its citizens, giving form to the powerful sense of belonging
which is crucial if people are to commit themselves to a shared
future. This has been the great achievement of the EU Charter
of Fundamental Rights. It has introduced innovations in two
essential areas: a new drafting method, through the Convention
set up for the purpose, and a focus on topics of immediate
concerns to citizens: their rights,

3.3.
recalls that the Nice Summit pointed for the first time
to the real prospect of a method for EU institutional reform
along the lines of the convention which led to the EU Charter
of Fundamental Rights.

4. Adopting a constitutional text

The Committee of the Regions

4.1.
recalls that it has for some time advocated a European
constitutional framework which, while respecting the existing
constitutional systems of the various Member States, would
seek to remedy the Community’s present democratic deficit,

4.2.
regrets the marginal role still allotted to regions and
local authorities, its representatives not figuring among the full
members of the Convention whose task it is to prepare a draft
constitutional treaty,

4.3.
stresses that instruments, responsibilities and decision-
making procedures provided under the present Treaties are
incapable of guaranteeing that the Community decision-
making process can efficiently meet the challenges of increas-
ingly interdependent circumstances,

4.4.
urges that the principles of subsidiarity and proximity
be better protected, guaranteed and implemented under the
new constitutional framework, and that a better balance be
struck between the institutions, and between them and the
other spheres of government,

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4.5.
considers that the future constitutional treaty should
be a basic treaty. It should not be limited to recasting the
existing version, but rather should strengthen the institutions
in order to redress the Union’s present democratic deficit; to
this end, the role of the European Parliament will have to be
upgraded, and the demand for grassroots proximity must be
met by more closely involving regional and local authorities
either through their representative assembly, the Committee
of the Regions, or directly under the powers granted to them
by individual national constitutions,

4.6.
believes that in the constitutional treaty, explicit refer-
ence should be made to the values underpinning the process
of European integration and which the Union wishes to
promote, meaning the principles governing the system of rules
which is to be applied subsequently in the detailed legislation.
These principles should include:
— the principle of subsidiarity as a key principle, including
at sub-state level in keeping with the provisions of the
individual Member State constitutions,

— the principle of proportionality,

— the principle of governance and partnership,

— the principle of flexible implementation at national,

regional or sub-regional level,

is of

4.7.
the view that in drafting the constitutional
treaty, work to clarify responsibilities should avoid rigid
categorisation, and should focus on reinforced EU-level powers
which should extend beyond the current remit of currency to
cover joint security and foreign affairs, as these are spheres in
which citizens are most aware of the need for a Europe which
can speak with a single voice. Other powers regarding major
strategic options should be shared between the European and
national levels, with direct implementation being left to the
national and sub-national levels, in keeping with the different
constitutional arrangements in the Member States.

Brussels, 10 October 2002.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE