Flere konventsmedlemmer var i tvivl om, hvorvidt en sådan artikel bør indsættes i forfatningens første del (nogle foreslog at indpasse begrebet i anden del i artiklerne om forbindelserne udadtil), men de fleste var af den opfattelse, at Unionens forbindelser med nabolandene var så vigtige, at de bør have et særskilt afsnit og en særskilt artikel som foreslået af præsidiet.
Whilst several members of the Convention questioned whether such an article should be placed in Part I of the Constitution (some suggested that the concept could be subsumed within the Part II external relations articles), most considered that the Union's relationship with its neighbours was sufficiently important to warrant a separate Title and article as put forward by the Praesidium.