What is the Charter of Fundamental Rights?
At the Cologne European Council in June 1999 the Heads of State or Government agreed that it was necessary, at the present stage of the Union’s development, to establish a Charter of fundamental rights in order to make their overriding importance and relevance more visible to the Union’s citizens. It was decided to set up an ad hoc body composed of representatives of various constituent groups in order to draw up the draft charter. The Charter was proclaimed at the European Council in Nice on 7 December 2000, by the presidents of the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission. However, it was not then incorporated into the Treaties establishing the European Union. The Charter has been incorporated as the second part of the Treaty on establishing a Constitution for Europe, which is in the process of ratification by the 27 Member States of the European Union. Consequently the Charter is not yet a binding legal document. Further information can be found on Europa, at http://www.e
