The Riigikogu ratified with 73 votes in favour (1 against) the Act on the Ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (645 SE). The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe consolidates the earlier fundamental agreements of the European Union into one document, simplifies the EU legal acts system and gives the EU a status of a legal person.

The Chairman of the Constitutional Committee Urmas Reinsalu marked in his report that from the state law point of view it is the most important decision this composition of the Riigikogu has taken. In his opinion the ratification of the Treaty is an idealistic as well as a pragmatic step. “The Constitutional Treaty of Europe guards the development of Europe as a whole and consequently also Estonia’s interests; pragmatically speaking the Treaty promotes a more efficient management system for Europe,” Mr. Reinsalu declared. He also highlighted the fact that the Treaty stipulated the fundamental rights of citizens of the European Union. Speaking of the legal impact of the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Mr. Reinsalu said that in the interests of further development of the state law, the Constitution of Estonia needed a supplementary and profound analysis. He also stated that political impact of the Constitutional Treaty was more important than its legal meaning. “The enforcement of the Treaty in its entirety is less probable than the amendments to it. The ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe is, first and foremost, a political signal, which strengthens Estonia’s present positions.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet stated that with the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Estonia clearly indicated what kind of European Union it wished. He added that Europe expected this signal from Estonia. “The ratification of the Treaty shows that the European integration process is continuing and the trust in the Constitutional Treaty is recovering,” Mr. Paet stressed.

Estonia was the 15^th Member State of the European Union to ratify the Treaty.

The Riigikogu Press Service