Paris, 02/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The International Conference Centre in Cluny is organising for 9 July to 10 August, in Cluny, Bourgogne, the European Summer University 2001. It will be attended by 80 young people from 26 European countries (from all EU countries except Ireland and the Netherlands, and all candidate countries except Malta, with observers from FRY). It will devote its first week of work, from 9 to 15 July, to the drafting of a European Constitution. The project called the "Convention of Young Europeans", say the organisers, aim to "simulate" and "experiment with the use of the constitutional method" and demonstrate that it is "adapted to the participation of non specialists". The young people will work on a draft European Constitution comprising a preamble, a Charter of Fundamental Rights and a text that defines the working of the institutions, taking as reference texts the European manifesto of Cluny (appeal for a "civic Europe" launched after dialogue between Vaclav Havel, Romano Prodi and European citizens, from 17 to 20 July 2000 in Cluny), the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the EU Treaty after clarification and simplification by the European University Institute of Florence.
Work will be organised as follows: - From 9 to 11 July: plenary during which the members of the Convention, after expressing their fears and their expectations of Europe, will hear experts or main witnesses on the subject of the historic evolution of Europe and its prospects for the future. The participants will elect a president of the plenary assembly and will form committees. - From 11 to 13 July: committee work. The committees will be on: preamble and fundamental rights; justice, freedom and internal security, Court of Justice; common foreign and security policy; breakdown of powers between the EU and the States, sectoral policies, enhanced cooperation; civil society, economic and monetary policy; arrangements for the adoption and revision of the Constitution, access process and possible exclusion or secession process. Experts present will assist the young people by giving their views on the feasibility of proposals. - From 13 to 15 July: plenary debate and final vote.
(Press contact: Henrik Lindell, ENSAM Cluny, 71 250 Cluny. Tel.: 03 85 59 53 66. Fax: 03 85 59 53 50. E-mail: europe@cluny.ensam.fr Website: web: http://www.cluny.ensam.fr ).