EUROPEAN CONVENTION: UK SEEKS TO RESTRICT SCOPE OF DRAFT CONSTITUTION.

Legal personality.

The report from the working group on the "legal personality" of the EU, chaired by Convention Vice-President Giuliano Amato, received broad support from the Convention. Providing the Union with a single legal personality to replace its existing legal personalities is in line with the objective of simplifying European construction. The Amato report insists on the fact that whilst merging the Treaties implies the removal of the three "pillars" (or three different areas of EU legislation depending on whether the Union or the Member States have sole or joint powers), it would not prevent differentiated procedures on the various policies, notably Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). It nevertheless emphasised that "certain modifications appear desirable with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of external action". One question that arises in particular in this context is the ratification by national parliaments of international agreements concluded in the name of the EU, but also, and above all, the representation of Europe on the world stage. The report further notes that merging of the pillars opens the way to the combining of the Treaties in a single text covering on the one hand constitutional provisions, including Institutions and their rules of procedure, and on the other, a description of common policies and legal instruments for their implementation. The consequence is the merging of the Treaties on the European Community and on European Union "and perhaps Euratom too".

Convention member and MEP Antonio Tajani (EPP, Italy) highlighted the most evident consequences of the Amato report: what place might there be for the EU on the United Nations Security Council, alongside or in place of the Community's two permanent members, the United Kingdom and France? The French representative, Pierre Moscovici, remained tight-lipped on the subject but a memorandum to the working group indicates that Paris, whilst supporting the principle of a single legal personality for the Union, remains convinced that this should not influence existing international agreements. The UK Government representative Peter Hain was more explicit in advising "prudence", insisting "CFSP must remain an inter-governmental issue and a single representation on international organisations is not desirable". The Italian Government representative, Gianfranco Fini, described single legal personality as "indispensable" and argues that even if decision-making procedures linked to CFSP are to be different to those for other policies, they should nevertheless "draw inspiration from the Community logic". The German Government's deputy representative, Gunter Pleuger, indicated that Berlin subscribes fully to the report's conclusions. This line was echoed by the Spanish Government's deputy representative, Alfonso Dastis. The very favourable response from Sweden's deputy Prime Minister Lena Hjelm-Wallen was also noteworthy. Mrs Hjelm-Wallen...