The undersigned members of the Parliaments of the 12 members countries and of the European Parliament,

meeting in Rome, from the 27th to the 30th of November 1990, on the occasion of the Conference of the Parliaments of the EC concerning the future of Europe,

DECLARE THAT

1. the first formal decision that the Inter-Governmental Conference on Political Union should take is for the transformation of the EC into a federal European Union. The outcome of such a transformation would be the adoption of a European Constitution - by those EC countries ready to do so and open to the participation of all democratic European countries - to take effect before the next European elections in 1994 on the basis of a uniform electoral procedure.

2. The Constitution of a European Union must be the expression of the popular will. This is expressed on one hand through the national Parliaments, which are called on to prepare national positions in collaboration with their own national governments ; on the other hand through the European Parliament, which represents the united interests of the people, above and beyond their national differences.

The Constitution must be drafted by the European Parliament, and subsequently adopted or rejected by the national parliaments.

3. The federal nature of the European Union must ensure that the entrusting of competences to the EC level is according to the principle of subsidiarity, and respects the roles and efficiency of EC, state and regional institutions.

4. In the legislative process of the Union - which must be based on co-decision between the EP and the Council of Ministers - the national parliaments are involved at the beginning by being associated in the preparation of national positions and at the end when the laws of the Union are transposed into legal national texts.

It would be dangerous to create a new parliamentary institution at EC level, aiming at guaranteeing the involvment of national parliaments. This would only damage the tranparency of European democracy, without reinforcing the democratic role of national parliaments.

5. The realisation of European Union is the best, pragmatic response to the real challenges which face Europe today.

Changes to the EC Treaties which will be decided by the Inter-Governmental Conferences must be coherent with this point of view. National governments must declare that they will accept these changes if they are adopted by the European Parliament and conform with the propositions which have been worked out in political cooperation with the national parliaments.