European Parliament resolution on the procedures for ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe and a communication strategy for the said Treaty
Date: 2004-10-14
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Constitution, European Political Union, European Union, European integration, Treaty on European Union, promotion of the European idea

7.7.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 166 E/57

— having regard to draft amending budget No 9/2004 of the European Union for the financial year 2004,

which the Council established on 7 October 2004 (13083/2004 — C6-0132/2004),

Thursday 14 October 2004

— having regard to Rule 69 of and Annex IV to its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A6-0013/2004),

A. whereas amending budget No 2/2004 did not provide all the necessary budgetary appropriations for

the European Data-Protection Supervisor for the entire year 2004,

Considers that all posts authorised for Section VIII(B) should remain permanent in order to enable

1.
recruitment to take place during 2004;

2.

Approves Council's draft amending budget No 9/2004 unamended;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the European

3.
Data-Protection Supervisor.

P6_TA(2004)0021

Ratification procedures of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe and
the communication strategy

European Parliament resolution on the procedures for ratification of the Treaty establishing a Con-
stitution for Europe and a communication strategy for the said Treaty

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, to which the Heads of State or
Government of the Member States of the European Union gave their agreement on 18 June 2004 (1) at
the Intergovernmental Conference, on the basis of the text drawn up by the European Convention, and
which is due to be signed in Rome on 29 October 2004,

— having regard to Rule 108(5) of the Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the agreement reached on 18 June 2004 is of historical significance and constitutes the first
major political act of the enlarged European Union, laying the foundations for a renewed Union based
on increased democracy, transparency and efficiency,

B. whereas, in 2005, 60 years after the end of the Second World War and 16 years after the end of the
division of Europe, our continent is reconciled in an order of peace and freedom, based on ever closer
economic and political integration, of which the European Communities, and subsequently the Union
and their successive enlargements, have been the driving force,

C. whereas the Constitution should be presented to Europe's citizens in as clear, fair and understandable a
way as possible, clearly emphasising the elements already in force and stressing the new provisions,

1. Will deliver its opinion on the constitutional Treaty as soon as possible after it has been signed;

Calls on the Council to devise a coordinated approach to the timetabling of national ratification

2.
procedures and to share best practice in terms of parliamentary scrutiny and referendum campaigning;

3.
Suggests that the period from 5 to 8 May 2005 might be chosen as a suitable period for holding the
planned referenda on the Constitution or the parliamentary ratification in the Member States, as this period
would be of symbolic value, both for peace on our continent and for European integration;

(1) Document CIG 87/04.

C 166 E/58

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

7.7.2005

Thursday 14 October 2004

4.

Suggests that the ratification process in all Member States should be accomplished by June 2006;

Deems it essential to emphasise the European dimension of the draft Constitution in the national

5.
ratification procedures in order to increase a shared sense of civic community across the Union;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to draw up an appropriate campaign and communication

6.
strategy; declares its willingness to contribute to this strategy;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments

7.
and parliaments of the Member States.

P6_TA(2004)0022

Future of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

European Parliament recommendation to the Council and to the European Council on the future of
the area of freedom, security and justice as well as on the measures required to enhance the legit-
imacy and effectiveness thereof (2004/2175(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the proposal for a recommendation to the Council and to the European Council by
Baroness Sarah Ludford on behalf of the ALDE Group on the future of the area of freedom, security
and justice as well as on the measures required to enhance the legitimacy and effectiveness thereof
(B6-0006/2004),

— having regard to Rule 114(3) and Rule 94 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A6-0010/

2004),

A. having been informed that, on 5 November 2004, the European Council

intends to lay down the

priorities for the area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) for the next few years,

B.

C.

having noted the significant progress that has been made, but also the many delays in the EU's efforts
to implement the AFSJ referred to in Article 2 of the EU Treaty,

regretting that progress in the field of asylum and immigration has been mainly devoted thus far to
action to counter illegal immigration and has not been accompanied by sufficient efforts to promote
the integration of legally resident aliens,

D. whereas refugee camps outside the Union should not be envisaged since they entail a clear risk of

fundamental rights being violated,

E.

convinced that any future development of the AFSJ must take into account:
— the existence, since 11 September 2001, of the threat of international terrorism, which struck the

European Union dramatically in the form of the Madrid attacks of 11 March 2004,

— enlargement to include 10 new Member States, which turns the EU into a democracy with a

population of over 450 million people,

— the entry into force on 1 February 2003 of the Treaty of Nice, which, for the first time, provides
for the extension of qualified majority voting and of the codecision procedure to certain important
asylum and immigration policy measures as well as to measures on judicial cooperation in civil
matters,

— the signing on 29 October 2004 of the draft Constitutional Treaty (1), which incorporates the
Charter of Fundamental Rights as Title II thereof, generalises the use of codecision for legislative
procedures, extends the supervisory role of the Court of Justice to include the measures relating to
the AFSJ from which it had hitherto been excluded and, finally, gives individual citizens the right to
bring actions before European courts,

(1) The references in this resolution are taken from document number CIG/87/04.