Constitution Must Be Finished Before the Elections, Mr. Ahern

The Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe) urge European leaders to show their political will to get the negotiations finished on the Constitution before the European elections on 10-13th of June.

Bertie Ahern, the prime minister of Ireland said yesterday in Stockholm that it is unlikely that the Constitution will be finished before the elections. JEF-Europe insists that the work be accelerated to ensure that citizens have the possibility to express their views about the Constitution when they go to the polls in June.

"When the drafting of the Constitution started, the leaders of the states promised that the work would be finished before the European parliamentary elections," stated Jon Worth, President of JEF Europe.

"Mr Ahern should now show a strong commitment to what the leaders have promised for the citizens."

"Without a swift agreement, the idea to bring Europe closer to its citizens once more sounds very hollow."

"European citizens, but also parties and their candidates, should have a chance to view the final results in order to have a real opinion about the Constitution," Jon Worth continued.

JEF Europe published yesterday an appeal to be distributed for national parliaments and European leaders to adopt the European Constitution, as drafted by the Convention, before the European elections. The appeal is available here

Picture: copyright European Commission Audiovisual library