AUTHORS: Peter Beyer-Clare Coffey-Anneke Klasing-Ingmar von Homeyer

In July 2003 the Convention on the Future of Europe presented the full draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, with a view to its adoption and eventual ratification by the EU Member States. The draft builds on earlier texts produced first in October 2002, and then in February 2003, and is an impressive document bearing in mind the nature of the challenge and the limited timeframe.

The Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) started at the beginning of October, and is to decide on the final form and content of the new European constitution. Though some Member States believe the Constitution should be pushed through in its current form, the IGC is unlikely simply to “rubber stamp” the text. Instead, some provisions of the draft will most probably be re-examined and eventually modified. If that does happen, it will present one last and important opportunity to improve the draft, from an environmental standpoint.

With this in mind, the following presents an analysis of the draft Treaty. The intention is to inform those involved, both directly and indirectly, in the IGC negotiations, of the environmental implications of the current draft and key opportunities for improvement.