Brussels, 28/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - British Liberal Democrat, Andrew Duff, has underlined that the refusal of a single Member State to ratify the future Constitution or other revisions, should not enable a Member State to block the entry into force of these texts. He is therefore proposing that the draft constitution is amended to: 1) enable the Council to take charge of convening a new intergovernmental conference with a clear mandate for renegotiating "the Constitution's provisions for its own entry into force" if this is blocked and 2) make proposals for any future revision of the Constitution to be achieved by a five-sixths majority of Member States". Mr Duff also noted that, "No federal system can work if its constitutional developments can always be held hostage by only one or two of its members". The MEP also points out that his proposal aims to introduce a new-style associate membership of the EU for any Member State that proves unable or unwilling to accept the whole constitutional package.
In another communiqué, Mr Duff says that the "proposals of the Praesidium on the reform of the court system are weak", notably because they do not allow improved access for citizens to the Community Judge. Mr Duff declares that, "It is essential that the Union develops comprehensive legal protection for its citizens and effective judicial review over all its activities". He also does not understand why foreign and common defence policy, sanctions and visas, activities carried out in the framework of the freedom, security and justice, as well as Europol should be excluded from judicial supervision.