Editing Convention on the Future of Europe

{{Short description|Body established to draft a constitution for the EU}}
{{Infobox event
| title                    = Convention on the Future of Europe
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| duration                 ={{time interval|2002-02-28|2003-07-18|options}}
| date                     = {{start and end dates|2002|02|28|2003|07|18}}
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| location                 = [[Belgium]]
| coordinates              = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LON|region:XXXX_type:event|display=inline,title}} -->
| also_known_as            = European Convention, Constitutional Convention<ref name="Nungent">{{Cite book |title=Government and Politics of the European Union |last=Nungent |first=Neil |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2017 |isbn=9781137454089 |edition=8th |pages=93 |editor-last=Paterson |editor-first=William E.}}</ref>  
| type                     = [[Constituent assembly]]
| theme                    = 
| cause                    =  [[List of European Council meetings#2000s|Laeken Declaration]] 
| motive                   = Provide starting point for the [[Intergovernmental Conference]] of Nice <ref name="Nungent" />
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Chairman: [[Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing]] <br />
Vice-Chairmen: [[Giuliano Amato]], [[Jean-Luc Dehaene]]<br />
15 - Head of State Representatives<br />
13 - Candidates States Representatives<br />
56 - National Parliaments Representatives of Member and Candidate<br />
2 - [[European Commission]] Representatives<br />
2 - [[European Parliament]] Representatives 
| outcome                  = Draft [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe]] 
| notes                    =  <!-- The use of cause is for the summoning body and the motive is the mandate -->
}}
{{Distinguish|Conference on the Future of Europe}}
[[Image:Valéry Giscard d’Estaing 1978.jpg|thumb|right|Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, President of the European Convention]]
{{EU history}}
The '''Convention on the Future of the European Union''',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iate.europa.eu/entry/result/926503/en|title=iate|website=iate.europa.eu}}</ref> also known as the European Convention, was a body established by the [[European Council]] in December 2001 as a result of the [[List of European Councils#Laeken 2001|Laeken Declaration]]. Inspired by the [[Philadelphia Convention]] that led to the adoption of the [[United States Constitution|United States federal Constitution]], its purpose was to produce a draft [[constitution]] for the [[European Union]] for the Council to finalise and adopt. The Convention finished its work in July 2003 with their [[Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe]]. See [[History of the European Constitution]] for developments after this point.

==Origins at Nice==
The Convention has its origins in the [[Nice European Council]] held in December 2000. This summit sought agreement on a process of revising the existing treaties on which the European Union was founded, as a prelude to [[Enlargement of the European Union|enlargement]]. A consensus emerged about the need to begin a "broader and deeper debate" on the future of the EU, and consequently the Council adopted a declaration on the future of the union annexed to the [[Treaty of Nice]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/4/the-treaty-of-nice-and-the-convention-on-the-future-of-europe|title=The Treaty of Nice and the Convention on the Future of Europe &#124; Fact Sheets on the European Union|publisher=European Parliament|date=March 31, 2024}}</ref> The process was intended to commence with a phase of open debate before the European Council met in [[Laeken]] the following year, when a better idea of what was required would have emerged.

The declaration adopted at Nice set out four main themes to be addressed:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:12001C/DCL/23:EN:HTML|title=EUR-Lex - 12001C/DCL/23 - EN|website=Official Journal 080 , 10/03/2001 P. 0085 - 0086}}</ref>
* How to achieve a more precise delimitation of powers between the European Union and its member states, in accordance with the principle of [[subsidiarity]].
* The status of the [[Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union|Charter of Fundamental Rights]] proclaimed at Nice.
* How to simplify the existing [[EU treaties|treaties]] in order to clarify their meaning.
* The role of [[national parliaments in the European Union]].

==Laeken Declaration==
In December 2001, when the European Council met in Laeken, a fresh declaration was adopted committing the EU to greater [[democracy]], [[Transparency (humanities)|transparency]] and efficiency, and setting out the process by which a [[constitution]] could be arrived at.<ref name="Nungent" /> This was to be achieved by a convention, which was intended to comprise the main 'stakeholders', in order to examine questions about the future direction of the EU. It was to produce a "final document", which soon became the draft constitution, to be handed over to the [[Intergovernmental Conference]], scheduled for 2004, which would finalise a new treaty.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/20950/68827.pdf|title=Presidency conclusions - Laeken, 14 and 15 December 2001}}</ref>

==Work==
The European Convention was established with 102 members. Former [[France|French]] President [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] was appointed Chairman, former [[Italy|Italian]] Prime Minister [[Giuliano Amato]] and former Belgian Prime Minister [[Jean-Luc Dehaene]] were appointed Vice-Chairmen. Its members were drawn from the national parliaments of member states and candidate countries, the [[European Parliament]], the [[European Commission]], and representatives of [[head of state|heads of state]] and [[head of government|government]]. The Convention met for the first time in February 2002, and met thereafter in [[plenary session]] once or twice per month. It deliberated in public in the European Parliament building in Brussels.

The 13 member præsidium of the convention consisted of the chairman and vice-chairmen along with:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/european-council/aggregator/73573|title=Composition of the Convention on the Future of Europe|website=EUbusiness.com|language=en|access-date=2018-08-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://european-convention.europa.eu/EN/praesidium/praesidium2352.html|title=Praesidium|publisher=The European Convention|access-date=2018-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820005709/http://european-convention.europa.eu/EN/praesidium/praesidium2352.html|archive-date=2018-08-20}}</ref>

* Government Representatives: [[Ana de Palacio y del Valle-Lersundi]] (Spain - PP); [[Henning Christophersen]] (Denmark - Venstre); [[Georgios Katiforis]] (Greece - PASOK).
* European Commission Representatives: [[Michel Barnier]] - UMP; [[António Vitorino]] - PS
* European Parliament Representatives: [[Klaus Hänsch]] - SPD; [[Íñigo Méndez de Vigo]] y Montojo - PP
* National Parliament Representatives: [[Gisela Stuart]], Labour Party UK; [[John Bruton]], FG Ireland
* Invitee: Alojz [[Lojze Peterle]] - NSi (Slovenia)

== See also ==
* [[Conference on the Future of Europe]] (2019 / 2020–2022)
<!--* [[Convention on the Future of Europe]] (2001 / 2002–2003, formally European Convention) which drafted the: ''[[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe]]'' (2004), rewritten into the ''[[Treaty of Lisbon]]'' (2007 / 2009)-->
* [[European Convention (1999–2000)]] which drafted the: ''[[Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union]]'' (2000 / 2009)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://european-convention.europa.eu/EN/bienvenue/bienvenue2352.html?lang=EN European Convention] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625150114/http://european-convention.europa.eu/EN/bienvenue/bienvenue2352.html?lang=EN |date=2021-06-25 }} (official website, no longer updated)

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[[Category:Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe]]
[[Category:Constitutional conventions (political meeting)]]
[[Category:Diplomatic conferences in Belgium]]
[[Category:21st-century diplomatic conferences]]
[[Category:2001 in international relations]]
[[Category:2001 in the European Union]]
[[Category:Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]]
[[Category:2000s political conferences]]