EUROPEAN INTEGRATION: GERMAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR 'FEDERATION OF NATION STATES'.

In an enthusiastically applauded speech which European Parliament President Nicole Fontaine described as "visionary", Mr Rau declared that it is precisely because Europe is not and must not develop towards becoming a single state that a principle of political organisation must be found which is adapted to the our times and which is consistent with to this desire to preserve the diversity of traditions. This principle is, according to Mr Rau, federation. He argues that a federation would enable every Member State to make its own sovereign decisions on its own constitution and system of government, stressing that "We need a constitution for the very reason that we do not want to become a single centralised state".According to Johannes Rau, this Constitution should consist of three parts. Firstly the Charter of Fundamental Rights proclaimed at the Nice Summit in December 2000. Secondly, a clear division of competencies between the Member States and the EU, and finally, Europe's future institutional framework. On this last point, Mr Rau called for Parliament and the Council of Ministers to be developed into a genuine bicameral parliament. He indicated that the Council of Ministers would preserve the nation states' sovereignty while the European Parliament would become a "citizens' chamber".Regarding the Commission, Johannes Rau suggested that Commission's work lacks democratic legitimacy. He considered the two alternatives generally proposed, the election of the President of the Commission directly by the people or by the two chambers of the proposed Parliament, and expressed his support for the Parliamentary model, whereby...