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Eu president planned Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/PA_NEWPOLITICSEuropemo16euconst?source=http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/PA_NEWPOLITICSEuropemo16euconst?source=
'European President' plan for EU
27 May 2003
Plans have been published for a new constitution for Europe with an elected president and an elected "foreign minister".
The draft unveiled in Brussels would, if approved, also commit member states to "unreservedly" backing a European Union common foreign policy.
It says the EU shall in future have "legal personality" and incorporates a legally-binding Charter of Fundamental Rights, including labour and social policies.
Despite the fact that the text drops the word "federal" at Tony Blair's insistence, and also leaves out any reference to earlier plans to change the EU's name to "United Europe" or "United States of Europe", there is still plenty for eurosceptics to get their teeth into. The Tories immediately condemned the latest version of the document.
Under the new plans, the future Europe as envisaged by the 105-strong Convention would have a new `President' elected by EU leaders to serve as the EU's figurehead for at least two-and-a-half years. He or she would be a serving or former prime minister of one of the member states.
In addition a `foreign minister' would be elected, also by EU leaders, to conduct the EU's common foreign policy and carry out any foreign policy mandates agreed by the member states. Defence and security policy initiatives undertaken by the EU would also come under his or her remit.
The Commission, meanwhile, would get a President elected by the European Parliament rather than by EU leaders, a move to satisfy those wanting to see the Commission's autonomy reinforced as a counterweight to national influence in the EU.
The launch marks the start, rather than the end, of the debate on a constitutional treaty and amounts to the completion of the first phase of the negotiations, which could continue into next year.
The partial text - "a revised draft of the first part" of the constitutional treaty said Mr Giscard d'Estaing's spokesman - will be reviewed once more by the full Convention later this week, then given its first assessment by EU leaders at a summit in Greece next month.
Then in the autumn an intergovernmental conference will be convened - effectively a rolling programme of meetings of EU leaders and senior ministers to decide whether or not to accept the new Treaty. That will require unanimous agreement of the member states - ensuring, as Mr Blair keeps pointing out, that anything unacceptable to the UK Government can and will be blocked.
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