A Few Points to Consider
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
PREAMBLE
DRAWING INSPIRATION from the cultural, religious and humanist
inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law,
BELIEVING that Europe, reunited after bitter experiences, intends to continue along the path of civilisation, progress and prosperity, for the good of all its inhabitants, including the weakest and most deprived; that it wishes to remain a continent open to culture, learning and social progress; and that it
wishes to deepen the democratic and transparent nature of its public life, and to strive for peace, justice and solidarity throughout the world,
CONVINCED that, while remaining proud of their own national identities and history, the peoples of Europe are determined to transcend their former divisions and, united ever more closely, to forge a common destiny,
CONVINCED that, thus “United in diversity”, Europe offers them the best chance of pursuing, with due regard for the rights of each individual and in awareness of their responsibilities towards future generations and the Earth, the great venture which makes of it a special area of human hope,
DETERMINED to continue the work accomplished within the framework of the Treaties establishing the European Communities1 and the Treaty on European Union, by ensuring the continuity of the Community acquis,
GRATEFUL to the members of the European Convention for having
prepared the draft of this Constitution on behalf of the citizens and States of Europe, WHO, having exchanged their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE I-1
Establishment of the Union
1. Reflecting the will of the citizens and States of Europe to build a common future, this Constitution establishes the European Union, on which the Member States confer competences to attain objectives they have in common. The Union shall coordinate the policies by which the Member States aim to achieve these objectives, and shall exercise on a Community basis the competences they confer on it.
ARTICLE I-3
The Union’s objectives
2. The Union shall offer its citizens an area of freedom, security andjustice without internal frontiers, and an internal market where competition is free and undistorted.
5. The Union shall pursue its objectives by appropriate means
commensurate with the competences which are conferred upon it in the Constitution.
ARTICLE I-5
Relations between the Union and the Member States
2. Pursuant to the principle of sincere cooperation, the Union and the Member States shall, in full mutual respect, assist each other in carrying out tasks which flow from the Constitution.strong>
strong>The Member States shall take any appropriate measure, general or particular,to ensure fulfilment of the obligations arising out of the Constitution or resulting from the acts of the institutions of the Union.
The Member States shall facilitate the achievement of the Union’s tasks and refrain from any measure which could jeopardise the attainment of the Union’s objectives.
ARTICLE I-6
Union law
The Constitution and law adopted by the institutions of the Union in exercising competences conferred on it shall have primacy over the law of the Member States.
ARTICLE I-7
Legal personality
The Union shall have legal personality.
ARTICLE I-8
The symbols of the Union
The flag of the Union shall be a circle of twelve golden stars on a blue background.
The anthem of the Union shall be based on the “Ode to Joy” from the Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven.
The motto of the Union shall be: “United in diversity”.
The currency of the Union shall be the euro.
Europe day shall be celebrated on 9 May throughout the Union.
You highlight the point in Article I-8 about the currency being the Euro. However, there is no compulsion for member states to adopt the Euro. If you read ahead to Article I-13, which covers exclusive competencies, paragraph 1(c) explictly states that the Union shall have exclusive competency over ‘monetary policy for the Member States whose currency is the euro’. This makes it very clear that the possibity exists that member states may not use the euro as their national currency.
James
The Constitution simply says the Euro will be the currency of the Union. It does not qualify that statement so any later qualification is a temporary arrangement with the possible exception of the UK any state that has an opt out is a state with a derogation, a state with a derogation is under a commitment to make preparation for entry into the Euro Zone their preparations will be checked at intervals to see how they are progressing. When the Commision believes the state is ready to convert to the Euro it will then remove the derogation.
Returning to the UK the Annexe does say that the UK has it in its own power to say when or if it will apply to adopt the Euro. However the point is that it is a clear declaration that the currency of the EU will be the Euro. As argued on different competences, every country is bound by the principal of loyal cooperation and the principal of good faith, which obliges signatory states to abstain from any conduct that could compromise full application of the treaty once it enters into force.
In the EU the principal of good faith is encompassed by that of loyal cooperation and the ECJ has repeatedly underlined that this principal is a fundamental value in the EU system, and that it involves not only negative but also positive obligations on the part of the state. Also that the scope of the principal extends beyond the wording, it could therefore later be construed that the UK`s opt out is not compatible with the obligations of loyalty and solidarity.
However I am not suggesting that the constitution will compel the UK to accept the Euro, because that is really a political matter, Britain will accept the Euro only when a British government feels it can proceed along those lines and get a yes vote in the referendum, but by ratifying the constitution we are accepting that the currency of the EU will be the Euro.