EU: The draft of what might form part of a constitution for the European Union contains 16 Articles on matters as diverse as the definition of the Union itself, its aims and purposes, and citizenship.
Article 1 says the EU shall reflect the will of the people by member-states co-ordinating certain matters on a federal basis, respecting existing national identities.
Article 2 says the Union is founded on respect for human dignity, liberty, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, with the aim of a society that is at peace, through the practice of tolerance, justice and solidarity.
Article 3 says the Union's aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples, and that the Union shall work for sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and social justice, with a free single market.
Article 4 says simply that the Union shall have "legal personality".
Article 5 deals with fundamental rights, saying that the charter of fundamental rights, annexed to the constitution, shall be part of the constitution.
Article 6 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of nationality.
Article 7 says every member-state's citizenshall be a citizen of the Union in addition to their national citizenship, and that all people shall be equal before the law. The article also guarantees freedom of movement and the right to stand for election in their state of residence.
Article 8 limits the powers of the Union to those conferred upon it by the constitution. "In accordance with the principle of proportionality, the scope and form of Union action shall not exceed what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the constitution."
Article 9 says the constitution shall have primacy over the laws of member-states.
Article 10 says that where the constitution confers upon the Union exclusive competence, only the Union may legislate on such competence.
Article 11 defines such competences as customs union, common commercial policy, monetary policy for the member- states who have adopted the euro, and the conservation of marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy.
Article 12 deals with shared competences defined as internal market area of freedom, security and justice, agriculture and fisheries, transport, trans-European networks, energy, social policy, economic and social cohesion, environment, public health, and consumer protection.
Article 13 deals with co-ordination of economic policies; Article 14 with common foreign and security policy; Article 15 with supporting action, and Article 16 with flexibility.
The full text of the draft may be read on the Irish Times website, ireland.com