Brussels, 02/11/2004 (Agence Europe) - As promised by Silvio Berlusconi (EUROPE of 30 October, p.4), a few hours after the European Constitution was signed in Rome on 29 October, the Italian government adopted the ratification of the Constitution, with Lega Nord ministers voting against, calling for a referendum. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini noted: the Lega is only challenging the modalities of the ratification, not the Constitutional Treaty itself.
In his speech at the lunch, the President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, said (our translation): "the European Constitution is the birth of a political union, not just an economic and social one (…). Our work is not yet done. We must now ratify the Constitutional Treaty as soon as possible". President Ciampi, who shook a lot of hands, was particularly affectionate towards Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker (whose opposite number he was as Finance Minister), whom he embraced warmly.
During the signing, several MEPs sent a joint letter to the European leaders for a clear reference to Europe's Christian roots to be included in the national ratification bills. This is legally possible, and I am in favour, said CDU MEP Elmar Brok in a press release. In the same press release, one of those behind the initiative, José Ribeiro e Castro (EPP-ED, Portugal) pointed out that a year ago, 300,000 people had signed a petition in favour of including a reference to the Christian heritage in the Constitution. The press release also notes that seven countries in particular- Portugal, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania and Malta had fought for such a reference. In another press release, Forza Italia MEP Mario Mauro, who is also a member of the EPP-ED group, said that the signing of the Constitutional should mark "the beginning of a new battle for respect for religious freedom which Europe is losing sight of more and more". From the same group, CSU MEP Markus Ferber called once again for Germany to ratify the Constitution by referendum.
During an event organised by the Party of European Socialists (PES) in Rome on the eve of the signature of the Constitution, Party President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said that the European Constitution contained "the instruments to put people first", to obtain "what we all want: more and better jobs, high quality public services (…), security and a louder voice in a globalised world". Rights acquired last century, such as social protection, were built at national level, and "we now have to safeguard them at European level", he added. Europe and Italy "deserve better than Buttiglione", added the former Dutch Prime Minister.
The President of the ALDE group, Graham Watson, who attended the signature of the Constitution with other MEPs, welcomed this "first step towards a new Constitutional order in Europe", and called upon European governments to gain vast popular support for the Constitution. From the same group, FDP MEP Silvana Koch-Mehrin called upon the Schröder government "to give people in Germany the opportunity to decide for themselves about the adoption of the Constitution", she said.
José Maria Gil-Robles, President of the European Movement International (EMI) welcomed the signing of the Constitution, pointing out that in Lille on 22 and 24 October, the Movement had undertaken to campaign for ratification. The Young European Federalists (JEF) will be there to "explain Europe to young people throughout the continent", said Jon Worth president of JEF-Europe.
Liese Prokop, president of the Assembly of European Regions, welcomed the fact that for the first time, regions and communities are mentioned in the treaty, but voiced concerns about the liberalisation of public services: we are not opposed to this liberalisation in principle, but given the great disparity in living conditions in the regions, the decision about which areas to liberalise should be left up to the regional and local political decision-makers, she said.