A healthy Constitution

Telegraph reports WHEREAS the Peoples of France and the Netherlands have voted "No" to further European integration; WHEREAS their Governments argued, throughout the referendum campaigns, that a "No" vote would amount to a rejection of the entire European project; and WHEREAS said Governments are determined to abide by their own logic; we, the 25 Member States of the EU, HAVE DECIDED to cancel the proposed Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe and, in doing so, to annul the Treaties establishing the EEC, the ECSC and Euratom, the Treaty on European Union and all consequent accords. In their place, we hereby ESTABLISH a European Commonwealth, to be based on the following principles.

In my opinion this proposed constitution would be much better than the 400+ page constitution the French and the Dutch rejected. But I would be very surprised if the bureaucrats in Brussels will like it.

1. The European Commonwealth shall be an association of parliamentary democracies that collaborate one with another for mutual benefit.
2. The jurisdiction of common European institutions shall be confined to cross-border matters: that is, fields of policy where the actions of one Member State impact directly upon the internal affairs of another. These include: commerce between Member States (but not trade with Third Countries); cross-border environmental pollution; and the maintenance of a free market in goods, services, people and capital.
3. For the avoidance of doubt, and as a defence against creative interpretation by European judges,

   Gee, he does not trust judges legislating from the bench. What a surprise.

   a list of national Reserve Powers shall be drawn up in the Member States' constitutions (or by parliamentary statute in the United Kingdom). Such a list shall include: foreign affairs, defence, asylum and immigration, transport, energy, the powers of regional and local government, agriculture, fisheries, industry, social and employment policy, taxation, health, education, justice and home affairs. In these areas, the supremacy of national parliamentary and legal systems shall be guaranteed.
   
   Common European policies shall come into effect only following a specific implementing decision by the national authorities.
4. Member States shall be free, if they wish, to adopt common policies in these areas. Such initiatives may happen bilaterally or multilaterally, without prejudice to the non-participating members.
5. In order to give effect to these principles, the institutions of the old EU shall be reformed as follows:
   1. The European Commission shall lose the right to initiate legislation.

      Fantastic idea.

      Such a right is incompatible with the principle of accountable democracy. The Commission shall instead fulfil the role of a neutral civil service, answerable to the elected governments of the Member States.
   2. The European Parliament shall be replaced by an Assembly comprised of national deputies and senators, seconded from their home legislatures for a period of not more than four days a month.

      This is brilliant. Texas has a similar provision; it's legislature can only meet for a certain number of days, and only twice a year, unless a special session is called by the Governor.

      The Assembly shall not pretend to the role of a legislature. Its function, rather, shall be to oversee the Commission.
   3. The European Court of Justice shall be comprised of judges, required as a condition of their appointment to have had experience on the bench in their home countries. It shall adjudicate disputes between the Member States as well as questions arising from the interpretation of this Treaty, but shall have no right to demarcate the border between national and European jurisdictions.
      
      Any dispute over the location of power shall be referred to a European Tribunal, comprising the heads of national legal systems: the Master of the Rolls from the United Kingdom, the President of the Conseil d'Etat from France, the head of the Bundesverfassungsgericht from Germany and so on. These eminent jurists, retaining their national perspectives, shall adjudicate all questions touching on sovereignty.
   4. The Council of Ministers shall be the supreme authority of the European Commonwealth. It shall propose common initiatives, open to such member states as choose to participate. Such initiatives should also be open to states from outside Europe.
   5. The European Central Bank shall be abolished and member states shall be free to set their own interest rates or to combine their monetary policies bilaterally or multilaterally.

      Which would eliminate the problem reported earlier where a paper said German Euros were good, but Italian one were not.

6. The European Commonwealth shall work towards international co-operation and the breaking down of global trade barriers.
7. The European Commonwealth shall encourage the progressive reduction of tariffs against produce from Third Countries, including in the fields of agriculture, textiles and raw materials.
8. Any uncertainty arising from ambiguities in this Treaty shall be resolved in favour of the individual citizen rather than the state, and of national governments rather than European institutions.
9. Changes to this treaty shall take effect only following ratification by referendum in all signatory states.