Maltese youths in programme to draw up European constitution

Twelve Maltese young people recently joined 1,000 young Europeans in Denmark for a two-week stay in 13 Danish Folk High Schools to work on a proposal for a European constitution.

The Youth 2002 Meeting ran in parallel with the Youth Convention on the Future of Europe.

After two weeks of debate, 26 representatives from the individual Folk High Schools met at Ronshoved High School in Denmark. Malta, the smallest out of 31 countries present, had four of its delegates elected to a final group of 26, making it the most highly represented country.

The four Maltese youths were Steven Attard, Ken Mifsud Bonnici, Hanan El Khatib and Kevin Cutajar.

The 26 incorporated the 13 Folk High Schools' proposals for a European constitution into one document.

Ken Mifsud Bonnici then represented the entire group of 1,000 youths in presenting the Youths' Constitution to Valerie Giscard d'Estaing, president of the Convention on the Future of Europe, live via a satellite link with Brussels. The constitution will be translated into 25 languages and sent to 30,000 European organisations and key decision-makers.

The proposals made it clear that young Europeans want to make the European Parliament the true power centre of Europe with two chambers, one for EU citizens and one for member states.

Instead of the EU Commission, the youths suggest that a head of the executive is elected by the Chamber of Citizens, with the approval of the Chamber of States.

The head of the executive will then appoint a European government. For the first time, youths would have a prominent role in a permanent European Youth Forum that would serve as an advisory body of the European parliament.