On 21-22 June, EU leaders gathered in Brussels for the European Council to re-launch the debate on the future of Europe. This discussion took place more than two years after the French and Dutch ‘no’ votes to the Constitutional Treaty. The task of European leaders was on one hand to find a way to preserve as much of the original text as possible (the Constitution being already ratified by 18 countries), and on the other, to make enough changes to break the deadlock in France and the Netherlands.

Many issues were at stake during the negotiations, including social aspects of the Constitution that were under threat of being taken out: a legally-binding Charter of Fundamental Rights, inclusion of the horizontal social clauses and the article on participatory democracy (I-47).

EU Treaty campaign by Social Platform: Social Europe is not an option, it's a priority!

EU Civil Society Contact Group's campaign on Constitutional Treaty