Prodi hatches radical plans for EU treaty reform

Date: 27/01/2000

By Gareth Harding

NATIONAL vetoes would be almost completely abolished after the next round of enlargement under proposals drawn up by the European Commission for this year's Intergovernmental Conference, which kicks off in just over a fortnight.

In a controversial paper published yesterday ( 26 January), the Commission argues that as a general rule, qualified majority voting should be used to take decisions in the Council of Ministers, although vetoes would be retained for institutional matters, international agreements, and tax and social security decisions not related to the single market.

Outlining more than 20 proposed changes to the EU treaty, Commission President Romano Prodi called for a far-reaching reform of the Union's rulebook as part of preparations for admitting up to a dozen new members into the bloc.

To avoid paralysis in the EU executive, Prodi proposes limiting the number of Commissioners to either 20 or one per member state. Other institutions, such as the European Parliament, would also have their numbers capped.

But the most radical proposals relate to the way the Council carries out its business. Under the Commission's plans, groups of countries wishing to 'go it alone' on contentious issues would be allowed to do so providing they had the support of a third of member states.

In addition, rather than reweighting the number of votes each country has, the Commission argues proposals should be adopted if they have the support of a simple majority of member states and a majority of the EU's total population.