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At the Convention on the future of the European Union (EU) in Brussels, a proposal on the structure of the final document of the Convention, the Constitution of the EU, was put forward. A two-day session of this Convention finished on 29 October. “The fact that a Constitutional Treaty is being deliberated is very important in itself. It proves serious ambitions of the Convention to improve activities of the European Union. The content of this Treaty is going to be still more important,” Representative of the Lithuanian Government, Undersecretary of the MFA Rytis Martikonis noted. According to the official, a draft of the structure of the Constitutional Treaty will give citizens a better idea of the direction that the debates on the EU future lean to and what is to be expected of the Convention. According to MFA Undersecretary Martikonis, the submitted draft of the structure of the Constitutional Treaty is for the time being an outline, which indicates constituent parts of the Treaty without filling in their content. It gives the impression that the draft rounds up EU achievements and presents them in a language comprehensive to everyone. It is proposed that the Constitutional Treaty should replace all the agreements currently in force, yet the political and legal nature of the EU would not be affected,” the Government’s Representative stated. In the MFA Undersecretary’s opinion, the most complicated debate still lies ahead, namely, when the parts of the draft Treaty are to be filled with concrete content and especially when the issues of EU institutions and their powers are to be addressed. “This is an ambitious task for the European Union. In the meantime, for Lithuania just as for other candidates, it is a double challenge,” the Lithuanian diplomat said. “Already today a proposal included in the draft to set up a new institution, the Congress of the Peoples of Europe, which would be made up of representatives of national parliaments, has received a lot of questions and criticism. I do not think that the EU needs a new institution, we should give more consideration to strengthening the democracy and effectiveness of the already complicated institutional structure of the EU”, Undersecretary Martikonis said. The preliminary draft of the Constitutional Treaty submitted to the Convention proposes to introduce European citizenship in addition to national one, to abolish the currently existing three-pillar system by uniting the pillars in the Constitutional Treaty. It is also proposed to make provisions for a member state’s voluntary secession from the EU. In the draft structure of the Constitutional Treaty, there is also a separate article on EU relations with neighbouring states. Commenting on the proposals included into the draft, Government’s Representative to the Convention Martikonis emphasised that “in making any changes, it is very important to see the overall picture and to be considerate of the possible impact of the changes in all areas”. At this session of the Convention, working groups on the role of national parliaments and the Charter of the Fundamental Rights presented their conclusions. Currently, national parliaments are not directly involved in EU decision-making. Their role manifests itself through parliamentary control of national governments. The working group of the Convention concerning the role of national parliaments in the EU submitted its proposals on how their role could be strengthened. According to Undersecretary Martikonis, the increased role of national parliaments would be useful in bringing the EU closer to its citizens. Evaluating proposals to include the Charter of Fundamental Rights into the Constitutional Treaty, Undersecretary Martikonis stated that it was a positive step towards enhancing rights of citizens of the EU member states: “The rights thoroughly stipulated in the Constitutional Treaty will allow citizens of Lithuania and other EU countries to defend their rights not only at the national, but also at the EU level.”