Duff fleshes out alternative plan for a single president

Date: 30/01/03

By Dana Spinant

TOP-level opposition to the Franco-German plan for an elected president of the European Council is already being mobilised - with a counter-proposal for a single European president on the way.

Under the alternative plan being developed by senior Convention member Andrew Duff, the president of the European Commission would also chair the European Council.

Romano Prodi, the Commission president, along with Belgium's Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, Foreign Minister Louis Michel and Liberal members of the Convention, have held talks with Duff on the counter-proposal.

Although the plan for a single president is rejected at present by large member states, Duff is confident a consensus can be built on this idea.

The key to make it acceptable is a "clean separation of the legislative and the executive functions of the Council" and the creation of a Commission "that has credit in the EU" so that leaders can trust it, he argues.

The plan of an integrated presidency, supported by small countries and favoured privately by Prodi, does not currently meet the approval of the UK, Spain, France or Italy. However, Duff believes that if the legislative and executive duties of the Council are cleanly separated, it would be reasonable for one person to be responsible for the executive functions of the EU.

As those functions would be exercised through both the Commission and the Council, it makes sense for the two institutions to have one president, he contends.

The second key element is to transform the Commission in order to make it both trustworthy and efficient.

"I personally prefer a smaller Commission team of 14-15 members," Duff said, conceding that there is little chance of this proposal being accepted now, due to opposition by small states and, in particular, by the new states joining the EU next year.

Therefore, Duff insists that the constitution must be sufficiently flexible to allow for the Commission team to be reduced once this wins acceptance from all states.

He believes such a decision will be inevitable in the near future.

Also, improving the Commission's work through more resources and better management will be crucial for introducing more trust in the system.

The third elemen to prepare the ground for a single European president is the so-called 'spill-over'.

After introducing a single legal personality for the EU, and incorporating the Charter of Fundamental Rights into the treaty, the climate will be more favourable for this plan as it will generate more trust in the Commission.

"You should not underestimate the spill-over which will result from these changes," Duff said.

One should not expect that "introducing trust in the system" can take place overnight but, for Duff, this represents the best way forward.

"We have to surpass this rivalry between the Commission and the Council, and the integrated presidency is the answer."

But a senior Convention official warned that Duff's option would never be accepted by large member states.

"This idea is charming, as concerns the external representation of the EU, because one person would speak for Europe, but poses enormous problems for the Union's functioning."

He claimed that such a move would concentrate unprecedented powers in the hands of one person.

"Who wants this in Europe?" he said.

Top-level opposition to the Franco-German plan for an elected president of the European Council is already being mobilised, led by senior Convention member Andrew Duff.