EU member countries are shown in yellow

The European Union opens an unprecedented year-long meeting Thursday in Brussels where members will debate the group's long-term future.

Representatives at the Convention on the Future of Europe will spend the next 12 months plotting out ways the Union can become more democratic and relevant as it prepares to expand.

Valery Giscard d'Estaing

Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing will chair the meetings that includes observers from the 13 candidates for EU membership.

The debate is expected to include the role of the 15 members' parliaments in EU affairs and how the Union can make its common foreign and defense policies more effective.

Delegates say the year of talks could climax with a new European Union constitution which individual states would have to ratify.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

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