Draft constitution marks milestone in reshaping Europe

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Delegates are struggling to finish a European Union constitution that will determine whether the bloc remains a loose alliance of sovereign countries or moves toward a super-state that may someday rival the United States.

A 105-member convention has been working for 15 months to create a document to manage the EU more efficiently after the bloc swells from its current 15 members to 25 members comprising 450 million citizens next year.

The convention chairman, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, admitted that delegates will need more time because conflicting national interests and widely differing visions for Europe have complicated their efforts.

Giscard d'Estaing hoped to finish a complete draft in time for a June 19 EU summit in Greece, but said Wednesday only the first two parts of the draft will be ready by then. Framers will meet in July to finish the final part, which includes the contentious issue of how many votes each country will hold.

The challenge has been to balance the powers of individual governments with those of the EU, which many Europeans consider a faceless, bloated bureaucracy not accountable to voters.

The deliberations have underscored the historical contradictions between those anxious to protect national sovereignty and those who believe the future of Europe lies in something similar to a federal state.

Small countries such as Austria, Denmark and Belgium also fear their influence will be submerged by big nations such as Germany and France.

The negative sentiments are most pronounced in Britain. Many British newspapers warn the constitution will spell the end of country's sovereignty.

"The biggest betrayal in our history," proclaimed the Sun newspaper of London after part of the draft was released last month.

Conrad Black, owner of the Telegraph newspapers, warned that framers wanted to establish a "ramshackle structure of alternative influence" to the United States.

Mindful of public sensitivities, British Prime Minister Tony Blair persuaded Giscard d'Estaing to drop his plan to rename the EU "United Europe." Blair also has lobbied against references to federalism -- a red flag for British EU critics.

Others, notably in France and Germany, fear Europe will miss a historic opportunity for global leadership unless the constitution provides more cohesion on the continent.

"Better to have no constitution at all than a poor compromise," French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said.

The draft codifies powers already held by the EU, including the right to sign treaties in the name of member states, and it reiterates the primacy of EU laws over national legislation.

It would do away with national vetoes in sensitive areas like foreign policy, taxation, asylum and immigration policy in an effort to simplify decision-making and avoid deadlocks.

British delegate Peter Hain said Wednesday his government could never support dropping its veto over foreign policy and taxation.

On the other hand, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer warned delegates Wednesday they would condemn the EU to international irrelevance by keeping national vetoes on foreign policy decisions.

Meanwhile, Spain leads a camp seeking to retain a complex deal reached three years ago on the allocation of votes aimed at balancing the representation of small and large countries.

Other current EU countries are Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden and Finland.

The draft also would establish two new high-profile positions hand-picked by EU leaders -- a president to oversee bloc meetings and a foreign minister to coordinate policies on issues such as terrorism and sending peacekeepers abroad.

They are meant to give Europe a more unified voice on the world stage and encourage common economic, security and political policies in a world dominated by the United States.

The draft also would bolster the post of president of the European Commission, the Brussels-based bureaucracy that manages the EU, as well as giving the elected European Parliament more powers.

Once the convention reaches agreement, the draft is expected to face a rough ride as EU governments seek changes during the coming months.

Even the Vatican weighed in, complaining that the failure to mention God or Christianity ignores religion's role in defining Europe's character.