§ Mr. CashTo ask the Prime Minister what authority was given in the Laeken declaration to draft a constitutional treaty for Europe. [115286]
§ The Prime MinisterThe European Council at Laeken concluded that
in order to ensure that preparation for the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference is as broadly-based and transparent as possible, the European Council has decided to convene a Convention".It agreed the Laeken Declaration that mandated the Convention to consider a number of questions concerning the Future of Europe. One of these was what the features of a constitutional text for the EU might be. The authority for agreeing a Constitutional Treaty remains with the EU's Member States.