Draft:Intergovernmental Conference for Constitutional Treaty

The Intergovernmental Conference for Constitutional Treaty was an Intergovernmental conference which sought to modify and sign the draft made by the Convention on the Future of Europe

Precedence
The Laeken Declaration in its "Laeken Declaration on the Future of the European Union" established a Convention on The Future of Europe. This Convention on Europe produced the "Draft Treaty Establishing Constitution for Europe" also known as the Draft for the Constitutional Treaty. This would later serve as the agenda which the IGC followed.

Composition and Organization
Its composition was similar to that of previous IGC with heads of state and working groups. Its functioning was different from previous Intergovernmental conferences; their agenda was set by the draft produced by the Convention on Europe. It was hosted by the European Council under the Italian presidency. Its operation was meant to happen more speadily than prior IGC.

Working Forums

 * The Office of the President - Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
 * The Praesidium - 13 Convention Members
 * Working Groups - 11
 * Plenary SessionsIGC would finish under the Irish presidency.

Proceedings
To avoid deadlocks the Italian presidency attempted to stick to the agenda set by the Council. However in December 2003 the negotiations stalled and deadlocked. The IGC was dissolved without a conclusion. Under the Irish presidency the IGC was reconvened in June 2004. Under this presidency the member states would sign Constitutional Treaty and pass it on to their nation for ratification.

Deadlocks
Scholarship commonly divides it into five deadlocks. There is disagreement in the scholarship as to the reasons of the deadlocks with some attributing to the Italian Presidency, and some to different national interests. The first issue was a Christian inheritance clause proposed by some states. The second issue was the collective defence clause. The third was the Council presidency. The draft proposal made it rotational. The fourth was the reduce the number within the collage of commissioners. The fifth was the dropping of QMV as method of voting for the Council of the European Union.