Frattini: scrap vetoes or face two-speed Europe

The European Union is facing division if member states do not adopt the justice and home affairs elements of the constitution, Franco Frattini, the European commissioner for justice, freedom and security, has warned. He said that unless the justice elements of the constitution were retained in any revised treaty, a two-speed Europe was inevitable.

The commissioner said that lifting national vetoes on judicial and police co-operation was essential and the Charter of Fundamental Rights must be legally binding, otherwise "you make a mess".

With three weeks to go before EU leaders meet in Brussels (21-22 June) to discuss which parts of the treaty to keep, the justice and home affairs elements are expected to be the most contentious. The UK has signalled that it wants to see these elements watered down significantly so that it can justify not holding a referendum on the constitution.

But Frattini was adamant that the treaty had to do away with national vetoes. "Shifting as a general approach from unanimity to qualified majority voting, that’s the precondition," he said in an interview with European Voice.

He added that the European Court of Justice should have the right of scrutiny over justice and home affairs legislation, the European Parliament should have co-decision and the Commission should be given the right to initiate legislation, as is allowed in all other areas of community law, except for foreign affairs.

Frattini said that an "emergency brake" could be used to allow governments that had major objections to particular proposals to put them before government leaders, but only in rare cases.

"I can imagine an emergency brake for general points of absolute national sovereignty but an emergency brake does not mean to block a decision, [it means] just to suspend it and to have a high-level decision and discussion at European Council," he said.

If the justice aspects of the constitution were not preserved then the EU member states would advance co-operation at different speeds, Frattini said. He warned that the UK, Ireland and Denmark, which all have opt-outs on some issues in this area, and other states which support them in blocking proposals in the Council of Ministers, would be left out.

The majority of member states would move forward using "enhanced co-operation", a never-before-used mechanism which allows a minimum of eight states to adopt legislation. Frattini said that while he did not "like at all the idea of a two-speed Europe", he liked "even less the idea of being blocked only because one or two or three, even very important countries, will impose on me to wait".

"It will be a dramatic situation for Europe, a situation I would not wish at all," added Frattini.

Member states needed to move away from "Europe à la carte", he said. "I’m sorry to be quite tough but I make a distinction between choosing Europe à la carte and choosing Europe. It is one thing to say, ‘you have an internal market and it’s perfect, you have freedom of movement and it’s perfect, I’ll keep it - but I don’t want article one, article four, article seven’," he said.

Frattini said that he favoured ratification of the treaty in national parliaments rather than referenda because to ask the people directly undermined the credibility of parliaments. But if states did choose to put the treaty to a referendum, his message to them was: "Be courageous, ask people whether they want Europe as a whole or not - including an internal market, including a global strategy on energy, including freedom of movement, including Schengen and no control of passports."

The European Union is facing division if member states do not adopt the justice and home affairs elements of the constitution, Franco Frattini, the European commissioner for justice, freedom and security, has warned. He said that unless the justice elements of the constitution were retained in any revised treaty, a two-speed Europe was inevitable.