Ending the EU’s identity crisis

Date: 04/05/06

The European Commission is to devise policies of concrete benefit to citizens over the next year as part of a long-term plan to create momentum for institutional reform and redefine the direction of the EU.

At last week's (27-28 April) seminar on the future of Europe, commissioners gave strong support to a call by President Jos�anuel Barroso for a "Europe of results" or projects that address citizens' concerns and demonstrate the "added-value" benefits of the EU. There was "clear consensus in the College for a positive agenda for Europe", said a senior Commission official speaking after the seminar.

The Commission affirm-ed its "commitment to the values and principles of the constitution", according to the official. But in the absence of a consensus among Union leaders about how to deal with the rejection of the EU constitution by French and Dutch voters last year, Barroso's team is planning to focus on practical policies in the short term. Any institutional obstacles encountered in achieving these goals would flag up the areas where the EU needed reforms, the Commission believes. This "policy dynamic", as one official called it, could add to a "political dynamic" which could emerge next year following a number of crucial political events, a reference to elections in France and the Netherlands in the first half of 2007. A change of political leaders in Paris and in The Hague is expected to provide new opportunities to decide the Union's policy priorities for the next decade.

The Commission believes that the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome next year could be an opportunity to set out the way forward for the EU. "Providing a vision for Europe in its 50th birthday could be a good idea," an official said. The planned review of the Union's spending and income policies in 2008-09, agreed as part of last year's deal on the 2007-13 budget, could be the time to produce concrete proposals on the EU's direction for the period ahead.

Barroso's team is at pains to stress that the EU can keep moving forward even in the absence of institutional reform. But it believes that it is possible to make improvements under the existing treaties. "We need to make the most of the current treaties but we need to maximise their potential [too]," an official said. In particular it is considering using the bridging clause set out in the 2000 Nice Treaty which allows decisions on police and judicial co-operation in criminal law to be taken under the usual "community" procedure. This has also been suggested by the French government in a paper presented last week (see box below).

Officials said that despite the rejection of the constitution, opinion polls showed that citizens wanted "more EU" in a "substantial number" of areas. Citizens' concerns were primarily about unemployment and the state of the economy, internal and external security threats as well as doubts about the accountability and transparency of the EU institutions. "We need to reassure citizens we are addressing their concerns," an official said.

While the Commission would concentrate on its core competences in the fields of the internal market, competition and trade policy, the official said there was a need to have a "citizenship agenda" for the EU. While reconnecting with citizens would involve primarily initiatives in the field of justice and home affairs, another official explained that it would also mean emphasising the benefits for citizens of policies such as competition control which are presumed to serve only business interests. One official cited the Commission's pressure on mobile phone operators to cut roaming charges and investigations into the energy sector and payments cards as examples of policies "at the service of citizens".

These ideas are expected to be incorporated in a paper, due on 10 May, which will be the Commission's contribution to the discussion on the future of Europe to be held at the 14-15 June EU summit.

French proposals on institutional reform

• Justice and Home Affairs: use bridging clause (Article 42) of existing treaties to move police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters and fight against racism and xenophobia from the third pillar to the usual institutional framework (i.e. possibility of qualified majority voting in Council, greater involvement of European Parliament, strengthened right of initiative of Commission and increased role for European Court of Justice). Needs unanimous European Council decision.
• Social affairs: use bridging clause (Article 137) of existing treaties to introduce co-decision and qualified majority voting for legislation, setting minimum standards for the protection of dismissed workers and the representation and collective defence of the interests of workers and employers.
• Commission and Council to pledge to carry out an assessment of the social impact of new legislation and present results publicly.
• Economic and monetary affairs: identify issues requiring better co-ordination in the eurozone such as structural reform and taxation. Ensure better co-ordination among member states and at EU level on budgetary programming.
• More democratic and transparent institutions: extend role of European Parliament as co-legislator. Conclude revision of rules on comitology procedure to give parliament control over implementing measures for legislation agreed by co-decision. Give national parliaments a greater role in EU policymaking by agreeing that EU institutions will take account of opinions submitted by COSAC (committee of European affairs committees in national parliaments). Increase transparency in the Council of Ministers.
• External relations: improve coherence between Council and Commission in external actions and representation through joint meetings between high representative for foreign policy and external relations commissioners, Council-Commission task- forces, merging Commission delegates and special envoys of the high representative for foreign policy, more common evaluation missions, greater exchanges of officials between Commission and Council. Justice and Home Affairs: use bridging clause (Article 42) of existing treaties to move police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters and fight against racism and xenophobia from the third pillar to the usual institutional framework (i.e. possibility of qualified majority voting in Council, greater involvement of European Parliament, strengthened right of initiative of Commission and increased role for European Court of Justice). Needs unanimous European Council decision.

Article reports on the outcome of a European Commission internal seminar on 27-28 April 2006 seminar on the future of Europe. According to the author the European Commission was planning to focus on practical policies in the short term, given the uncertainty about the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty for Europe, which had been suspended after negative referenda in France and the Netherlands in 2005. The ideas brought forward at the conference were expected to be incorporated in a paper, due on 10 May 2006, which was to be the Commission's contribution to the discussion on the future of Europe to be held at the European Council on 14-15 June 2006. Article includes a summary of proposals on institutional reform presented by the French Government in April 2006.

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