Resolution: On the European Constitution

The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, convening in Bratislava, Slovakia, on 24 September 2005,

- notes with regret the rejection of the European Constitution in referenda in France and the Netherlands, but also notes the ratification of the Constitution through referenda in Spain and Luxembourg and by parliamentary decisions in 12 other Member States,

- believes that the rejection of the Constitution in two countries is due to many different factors and that national concerns played a major role,

- admits that there is a growing alienation between citizens and the EU, despite the fact that the Constitution has been drafted by an open Convention representing the whole political spectrum, and that similar problems with legitimacy also exist in many other Member States,

- supports the European Council in its decision to make a pause in the ratification process in order to open up for a broad debate with citizens on the role and future orientation of the European Union, as it is absolutely crucial that further European integration is backed by broad public support,

- calls on Member State governments to use the foreseen time of reflection wisely for a process where governments and opposition parties engage in serious two-way discussions with citizens, NGO’s and social partners, aiming to listen to citizens’ concerns and ideas, as well as to disperse objective information explaining EU enlargement, policies, and the advantages of a European Constitution in making the enlarged European Union more democratic, effective and transparent,

- firmly believes that the planned enlargement process must continue as planned and according to agreements made with the candidates Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey, and that the Union should develop the support to and cooperation with future Member States in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans,

- believes that a number of reforms in the Constitution, aiming at improving democracy, efficiency and transparency and which can be undertaken without changes to the Treaties, should be launched without delay as a sign that citizens’ concerns are taken seriously; calls on the Member State governments to adopt rules making the Council legislate in public, introducing the ‘subsidiarity check’ and involving national parliaments earlier in the EU legislation process,

- calls on Member State governments to put the ‘Strasbourg issue’ on the agenda in order to decide on a single seat for the European Parliament, as the forced monthly moves between Brussels and Strasbourg result in a serious waste of taxpayers’ money and contributes to the lack of legitimacy for the Union,

- instructs its bureau to forward this resolution to the governments of the Member States, Candidate States, the European Commission and the ALDE Group in the European Parliament.