Keynote Speech by Professor Dr. Bruno de Witte, EUI Florence The European Constitutional Treaty: Where Does it Come From and Where Will it Lead To? 18 June 2004 could become a date of historical importance in the life of the European Union. The Intergovernmental Conference finally agreed a text of the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union, that is now submitted to each of the 25 Member States for their separate ratification. Yet, the scenes of celebration in Brussels and beyond were rather modest. This can be explained partly by the fact that the final agreement did not come as a surprise, as it became increasingly obvious in the months and weeks before the final summit that, under the pragmatic guidance of the Irish Presidency, the European leaders had managed to put aside their differences of last December sufficiently to find a compromise on the main outstanding issues, such as: weighted voting in the Council, the composition of the Commission, the extension of policy areas subject to QMV , the references to Christian values in the preamble, etc. The low key reaction to the constitutional moment can also be explained, in part, by the fact that it had to compete for headlines in the media with more worrying political events in the life of the European Union, namely the record low turn-out at the previous week’s European Parliament elections or the continuing acrimony and indecision over the appointment of a new Commission president. However, the sense of flatness, even unease, that emerged from the IGC end-game is also due to something else, namely to the fact that the agreement on the text leaves two crucial questions hanging in the air. First, and most urgently in practical terms, what are the prospects of ratification, of turning this text into a legally effective constitutional instrument? Secondly, what precisely is the added value of this document if it enters into force, or, in other words, does the Constitutional Treaty live up to the ambitious hopes that were put in it and will it ensure that the European Union works better, is more democratic and closer to its citizens? Those are very broad questions and you will understand that I cannot fully address them here today. But let me say a few words about them, and start with the question of the added value of this document..[more >]           Last updated: July 12, 2004