Greg Trickey misunderstands the European Union constitution (12 November, page 37), the legal threat of which will be no greater to the UK鈥檚 鈥渞oyal鈥� chartered bodies than to the Crown Prosecution Service, the Royal Mail or indeed the royal family itself.

The fact that this constitution is called a constitution has no legal significance. Many organisations from golf clubs and the Labour Party to the World Health Organisation call their rule books 鈥渃onstitutions鈥�. For the most part the EU鈥檚 Constitutional Treaty will simply mean putting existing rules into one document detailing the EU鈥檚 field of competence and the rights and duties of its citizens. The UK government has published a Guide to the European Union, which explains what the constitution would and would not do.

There are topics of far greater significance for the industry coming from the EU: public鈥損rivate partnerships, increasing the volume of cross-border services, the rights of temporary workers, and competition in the professions, to name but a few.

Jill Craig, RICS head of European policy, Brussels

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