BRUSSELS, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The European Union took a giant step toward becoming a federal body Monday when the man given the task with simplifying the bloc's Byzantine decision-making procedures sketched out plans for an ambitious EU Constitution.
Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who heads the 105-member Convention on the Future of Europe, told delegates that a "Union of European States," should "administer certain common competences on a federal basis."
Giscard, who has compared his role to that of U.S. founding father Benjamin Franklin, also suggested that the EU should also change its name to reflect the continent's new unity after 10 Central and Eastern European states join the alliance in 2004.
"United States of Europe" and "United Europe," were two of the names put forward by the 76-year-old politician.
One of Giscard's most controversial proposals is to grant dual citizenship to EU inhabitants.
At present, Europeans may carry standardized burgundy passports, but they are first and foremost citizens of nations like Britain or France. The draft constitution unveiled Monday allows Europeans to choose either national or EU citizenship and grants them certain rights -- such as diplomatic protection abroad.
Another idea likely to spark heated debate is the proposal to give the EU its own "legal personality." This could lead to the EU having a seat in international forums such as the U.N. Security Council or the G-8 economic leadership group.
Presenting his draft constitution to convention members in Brussels, Giscard said: "We need a constitutional treaty to mark the beginning of a new Europe as we admit new members into our midst."
The 15-member bloc does not have a constitution, instead it is governed by dozens of treaties and protocols -- some of which date back almost half a century -- that are widely considered to be unreadable and unintelligible.
Giscard's solution is to draw up a shorter and more simplified constitutional treaty laying out the EU's goals and the rights of its citizens in clear language.
"The constitution should be somewhat lyrical so that students, schoolchildren and workers should be able to read it," he told the convention of parliamentarians and government ministers.
However, while the veteran French politician shied from proposing new powers for the EU, he did call for the creation of two institutions: a Congress of the Peoples of Europe, which would meet annually to map the EU's direction; and an EU president, who would represent the bloc on the international stage.
Euroskeptics immediately attacked Giscard's plans. Hans Lindqvist, leader of the European Alliance of EU-critical Movements, said they amounted to an "EU superstate is in the making, planned in a top-down manner by Mr. Giscard's convention."
However, Inigo Mendez de Vigo -- the head of the European Parliament's delegation to the convention -- hailed the text as an ambitious attempt to "refound Europe with a clear constitutional framework for the future."
