Intervention by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
Ms. Sandra Kalniete,
representative of the Latvian government at the Convention
Brussels, May 31, 2003 concerning the draft articles of the Constitutional treaty on the Charter of Fundamental Rights Mr. President Colleagues, The Charter of Fundamental Rights contains the same values as those, which are rooted in the constitutional traditions of the Member States. The insertion of the Charter into the Constitutional Treaty of the EU would mean a step forward towards narrowing the gap between EU institutions and citizens. However, consensus within the Convention has still not been reached on how to include the Charter into the Constitutional Treaty. The Working Group recommended giving the Charter a legally binding status by including it in the Constitutional Treaty. I believe that it is very important for EU citizens and governments to have the legal certainty of the Charter and its implications. Therefore incorporation of the Charter [in the Treaty] requires action on a number of delicate points. The translation of these points into adequate legal language requires great care. Therefore, to provide a unified implementation of the provisions of the Charter, the Commentary set out in a declaration and annexed to the Treaty should be elaborated. It might be possible to develop a compromise solution, allowing the incorporation of a legally binding Charter into the Treaty, while preserving the most important elements of the safeguards. I think that inclusion of the Charter in a form of a Protocol could be one of the best possible compromises. Thank you for your attention!
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