12 MAIN ELEMENTS OF A EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION
drafted by the European Union of Federalists 

 The Constitution will first and foremost provide an order linked to determined values, notably the protection of personal freedom and of human dignity. The concept of the "human being" at the heart of the Constitution will be that of an individual who belongs to a pluralist community. It is divided into six major parts: fundamental rights, fundamental principles, division of power between the Federation and the federated states, the regions andmunicipalities, the federal institutions, and revision of the Constitution. Fundamental rights

1. Fundamental rights shall be at the core of the Constitution since the main purpose of the Federation is to serve the people. They shall provide a clear set of values, protect the individual from abuses of power by public authorities, and have legal status directly applicable to the citizen. The Constitution shall lay down the duties that result from the individual's participation in community life. Fundamental principles

2. Under Democracy the people are sovereign, and sovereignty stems from the people. In practice, the supreme authority will be exercised by elected representatives of the people, and direct decision-making by the people will apply in certain cases.   

3. Public authority is exercised separately by a legislative power, an executive power, and a judicial power. Measures can be judged by the courts according to the primacy of the law, whereby all action is subject to the Constitution and the law.
4. Solidarity benefits the economically weak by requiring public authorities to protect citizens from misfortune and to guarantee the right of human dignity and a proper share in the general welfare.

5. Subsidiarity provides for a union of federated states with respect for their cultural, local, regional, national and political diversity as well as minority rights. It also ensures that public authority and power is divided between the Federation and federated states to avoid excessive concentration of power and prevent its abuse. Division of power between the Federation and federated states

6. The Federation possesses only those powers and responsibilities conferred by the Constitution: foreign and defense; currency and monetary; internal and external trade policy; federal taxation and expenditure; environmental matters; and immigration and asylum.

7. Federated states shall exercise their basic sovereignty and keep their individual state characteristics and shall not become subordinate administrative structures. Thus, federated states shall retain primary or exclusive responsibility for social, health, educational and cultural policy; public order, civil and penal legislation; and all other matters not assigned as federal competence. Implementation of federal legislation will be binding on the federated states. The Federation shall be decentralized and have only limited administrative competence to allow decisions to be taken at a level where their impact can be most directly felt. The regions and municipalities

8. The Constitution shall guarantee the regions and municipalities the right to govern their own affairs. The federal institutions

9. The legislative authority of the Federation in the Federal Assembly shall be exercised by two Chambers, which make decisions by simple majority: the European Parliament, with members directly elected by the people to represent the citizens; the Council of States, to represent the federated states.

10. The Federal Commission shall be the executive authority. Its members and the President shall be democratically elected.

11. The Federal Court shall be organized in specialized sections and ensure that federal law is observed. Judges shall be appointed by the Federal Assembly. Revision of the Constitution

12. The European Constitution shall contain provisions for its revision. Its procedure shall be prescribed in detail, including who is to introduce it and who will decide.

(Free translation of a draft prepared in French by Bruno Boissiere and amended by the UEF Congress in Bonn, 23-25 April 1999. We thank Laura Davis, Secretary General of J.E.F. --Young European Federalists-- for clarifications.)