Convention makes eleventh hour changes to treaty text
By Honor Mahony
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's inner team on the Convention on Europe's future have made eleventh hour changes to the draft constitution despite a very limited mandate by member states.
Among the biggest changes are keeping the veto in immigration policy and on the competences of the countries with the euro.
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Submitting to predominantly British fears, the Convention President has added a line that any decision on economic co-ordination taken by the eurogroup, of which the UK is currently not a member, must be compatible with the rest of the Union.
However, a diplomat admitted that it was not clear "how far such an article can de facto go".
There have also been significant changes to the articles on reinforced co-operation, which allow some member states to move further ahead than the rest of the Union in certain areas.
The proposed changes would make it easier to apply reinforced co-operation to the area of defence. A spokesperson denied that this would make it easier to bring about a defence union by the back door.
New changes also foresee that should countries decide to move ahead in certain areas, they could then decide by unanimity that they want to proceed by qualified majority voting.
Untouched
Some big issues were left undecided, however. These include tax and common foreign and security policy. The vast majority of convention members would like to see the end of the member state veto in these areas - however, this is adamantly opposed by the UK.
Another thorny, but as yet untouched, issue is the future of the so-called cultural exception for France. The French government is pushing strongly to keep liberalisation away from the cinema and other forms of audiovisual entertainment.
These have been left to the Convention's final plenary debate which will take place on Wednesday (9 July).
The presidium will then meet again in the evening to see if any further amendments to the text have to be made.
The final draft constitution which will be given a ceremonial signing off on Thursday will be fine-tuned by member states at an inter-governmental conference beginning mid-October.