Finland wants to revive EU constitution talks News
Finland wants to revive EU constitution talks

[JURIST Europe] Finnish leaders hinted over the weekend that they would like to put the European Constitution [JURIST news archive] back on the table for discussion at the October summit of European Union [official website] leaders scheduled during Finland's six-month presidency [official backgrounder] of the regional group. Although the document seemed to be dead after the French [JURIST report] and the Dutch [JURIST report] voted against it last spring, several leading EU politicians, including new German Chancellor Angela Merkel [JURIST report], have recently suggested the revival of the draft pact, despite a distinct lack of enthusiasm [JURIST report] from some of their colleagues. Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen [official website] is the only current EU head of government who was a member of the original constitutional convention [official website] that drew up the document. So far 13 countries have ratified the Constitution. The treaty requires ratification by all 25 members before it can come into force. The Examiner has more.

Tatyana Margolin is an Associate Editor for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. She is based in the UK.