Citizens demand a Constitution!

The recent EU survey on the future European Constitution shows that a clear majority – 77 percent - of the European citizens from 25 states want the Constitution to be adopted now. The Young European Federalists (JEF Europe) have long campaigned for the adoption of a European Federal Constitution and see the results as a strong signal which the European leaders can not ignore anymore.

“One of the main fears when drafting the Constitution was that people are not ready to accept it. The results of the survey show exactly the opposite! The failure of the IGC in Brussels and the missed step forward, surprisingly gave a boost to the citizens. What we lack now is the political will of the European leaders to follow and adopt the draft Constitution to see a more effective and democratic Europe emerge,” said Jon Worth, the President of JEF Europe.

The survey also shows that people – 67 percent - fear the work of the EU institutions may be paralysed in the absence of a Constitution. A majority of the respondents think that their governments must be ready to make concessions on their national position in order that the Convention text is adopted.

“This is a clear message from the citizens, that the European Union based on the Nice treaty is not an option in the enlarging Union,” continued Jon Worth. “We need to move the EU closer to the citizens by creating a structure which is more transparent and democratic.”

JEF Europe regrets that the survey also shows an oportunity to inform the citizens properly has been missed by the governments.

“Most of the governments have done too little to inform their citizens on the work of the Convention and its end result – the draft Constitution. More effort should be put in offering the citizens the access to better and more understandable information.”