The European Constitution will provide much-needed legality to the European Union, among other things, said Jozsef Szajer, Vice President of the Hungarian Parliament and drafter of the proposed European Constitution, at a lecture and discussion at the UCLA School of Law this past week.
Currently, individual member nations of the European Union do not have the ability to propose bills, and so cannot technically be viewed as a legislative body. Furthermore, without a mechanism to enforce the law, rules can often be violated by the member countries, Szajer said.
The proposed constitution gives legal power to previous treaties and legal status to the European Union. The founding documents of the Union were a series of treaties, Szajer said adding that the proposed constitution is hoping to give those documents a legal personality.
The European Union also faces problems with the way its viewed by ordinary European citizens.
“If people see a stupid regulation ... they feel like (the European Union) is an unnecessary institution,” Szajer said at the Aug. 20 lecture.
The reason the constitution took such a long time to come about stems from the fear that the European Union would become a super state, and thus supercede the rights of the member countries, Szajer said.
Many European citizens also feared a loss of culture as a result of a powerful super state. “People are afraid that they will lose their heritage, but I don’t think that will happen … the older generations are afraid, but the younger generation knows the Union is good for the people,” said George Gaudyn, a Polish immigrant and resident of La Habra Heights.
The changes brought about by the constitution will hopefully affect the types of laws being passed, Szajer said.
“You have rules that regulate the size of a tomato or the composition of honey, but not anything concrete, such as the fight to stop drug trafficking,” Szajer said.
One particular change to the European Union arose from the “Kissinger Obsession,” Szajer said, citing Henry Kissinger, the former Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, who once said he would believe in the idea of a united Europe only when given a phone number he could call.
Kissinger referred to the fact that there was no way to “reach” Europe in the event of a international crisis. The proposed constitution also allows for the creation of a European Union presidency.
The Union has greatly affected the people of Europe, Gaudyn said, and the proposed constitution will likely continue changing the lives of Europeans.
“The European Union does many good things ... for example, the open borders lets nations learn from each other,” said Ella Gaudyn, George Gaudyn’s wife.