The European Convention was the 1999 convention which drafted the

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR) enshrines certain political, social, and economic rights for European Union (EU) citizens and residents into EU law. It was drafted by the European Convention and solemnly proclai ...

. The convention was called in 1999 by the Cologne European Council to consolidate rights for EU citizens and enshrine them at EU level. The meeting was composed of Members of the European Parliament, members of the national parliaments of the European Union, representatives from European Union member state governments and a representative of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

with observers from other EU institutions. The convention was chaired by

Roman Herzog Roman Herzog (; 5 April 1934 – 10 January 2017) was a German politician, judge and legal scholar, who served as the president of Germany from 1994 to 1999. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the first president to be elec ...

. It met for the first time in December 1999 and on 2 October 2000 it presented its draft document. Later that month the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the ...

approved it, in November the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

followed suit and it was formally proclaimed by the leaders of the

institutions of the European Union The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision-making bodies of the European Union and the Euratom. They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union: * the European Parliament, * the European Coun ...

on 7 December 2000 in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

. The document did not gain legal force until 2009 when the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member s ...

came into force with provisions to make the Charter, and the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...

on which it was based, legally binding.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:European Convention (1999-2000) European Union law History of the European Union 1999 in the European Union 1999 conferences 2000 in the European Union 2000 conferences

See also

References