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The European
Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by
Enrique BARÓN CRESPO (PES, ES) and Elmar BROK (EPP-DE, DE) on
the roadmap for the Union's Constitutional Process, by 469 votes in favour to
141 against and 32 abstentions. It reaffirmed its commitment to achieving a
settlement of the ongoing constitutional process of the EU that is based on
the content of the Constitutional Treaty, possibly under a different presentation,
but which takes into account the difficulties that have arisen in some Member
States. In the light of this, Parliament supported the efforts of the German
Presidency to obtain from the European Council of June 2007 a commitment to calling an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), and the definition of a roadmap
containing a procedure, a clear mandate and the objective of reaching an
agreement before the end of this year. Parliament
insisted on the preservation of all basic principles as contained in Part I
of the Constitutional Treaty. This included the express recognition of the
values on which the EU is based and of the legally binding force of the
Charter of Fundamental Rights. It stated that it would reject any outcome of
the negotiations which, if compared with the Constitutional Treaty, would
lead to a diminution of the protection of the rights of citizens as well as
to less democracy, transparency and efficiency in the functioning of the Union. The Process must
take into account major issues that have been raised during the reflection
period and clarify other issues that have already been addressed in the
Constitutional Treaty, such as: sustainable development, in particular the
struggle against climate change; European solidarity in the field of energy;
a coherent migration policy; the European Social Model in the context of
demographic change and globalisation; effective common mechanisms for the
coordination of economic policies in the euro-zone, while safeguarding the
role of the European Central Bank in monetary policy in accordance with the
Treaties; the Union's criteria and procedures for enlargement. Parliament, as
the only institution of the European Union directly elected by the citizens,
must be fully involved in the IGC at all levels, and to a greater extent than
during the 2003-2004 IGC. Members went on to emphasise the importance of
dialogue between national parliaments and their respective governments
through the IGC. They expressed willingness to maintain close contact with
the national parliaments during the forthcoming negotiation phase, as well as
with the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social
Committee, with the European Social Partners, with religious communities and
with civil society. Parliament
demanded that all Member States coordinate their ratification procedures, in
order to allow for the ratification process to be completed simultaneously. Lastly, it stated its intention to
deliver an opinion on the convening of the IGC in accordance with Article 48
of the Treaty on European Union, in light of the criteria set out in this
resolution.
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