Paris, 27/06/2000 (Agence Europe) - François Bayrou, UDF President and MEP, presented a draft "EU Constitution" that the UDF is expected to formally approve in October this year and that the European People's Party should discuss during its congress in January 2001, in Berlin.
The draft by Mr Bayrou mainly provides for: - election by universal suffrage of a Union president, for five years (in a transitional phase, the president could be elected by a "European congress" formed of MEPs and an equal number of Member State MPs); - the transformation of the Commission into a European government; - the setting in place of a two-House Parliament, formed of the European Parliament and a "Council of States". In addition, Mr Bayrou affirmed that the Union should only deal with "what has been expressly conferred upon it", and that anything which is not "formally and clearly" attributed to it must remain under Member State authority.