LONDON -- Presidents and constitutions are the subjects that excite enthusiasts for European integration at the moment, while ordinary citizens of Europe look on a little uneasily. The enthusiasts are making no secret of their earnest desire to "take Europe forward," as they put it, by creating the post of president of the European Union, who will sit at the apex of a united Europe, bolstered by a constitution written somewhat along American lines. This is seen as the next great integrating project after the euro.

It is also argued that this will give Europe a single, clear voice on the world stage and clarify the interminable arguments as to the relative powers and responsibilities of EU institutions and its nation states. Again, an analogy is frequently made with the American battle between federal power and states' rights -- a battle that blew up into a bloody civil war in the 19th century and continues today, in less violent form, in unending legal arguments in the American courts.

These ideas are being vigorously developed in the current Convention on the Future of Europe -- a forum sitting at The Hague under the chairmanship of former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing. The forum is charged with thinking out how the EU should adapt not only to the modern world generally but also to the imminent inclusion of nine or 10 new member states, mostly from central and eastern Europe.