| The
14 strategic proposals
14 propositions stratégiques
et opérationnelles pour
construire une Union Européenne
élargie effective et démocratique
au cours des deux prochaines décennies
1.
Setting up a regular EVALUATION
process of the EU institutional
and governing system :
One should foresee every ten years,
starting from 2002, the organisation
of a " Convention ",
made of elected officials, destined
to evaluate the state of European
integration, and to propose the
necessary structural adaptations.
(Added Value : Channelling
change to avoid chaos; Pacing
European construction to give
a chance to breathe; Democracy,
Efficiency, Adjustability, Evolution)
(Decision: 2004/2005 - Implementation:
2012)
2.
Drawing a new institutional GEOGRAPHY
for the EU :
One has to look again at the geographical
location of the European institutions,
and break out of the Brussels
- Luxembourg - Strasbourg historical
axis. The central institutions
should be divided between London,
Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels and
The Hague (EuroRing 1) and the
other community institutions between
the other European capitals: Dublin,
Madrid, Rome, Vienna, Budapest,
Berlin, Prague, Warsaw, Copenhagen,
Helsinki, Copenhagen , Athens,
Lisbon, Stockholm, … (EuroRing
2). These towns will constitute
the network of European capitals.
(Added Value: Bringing together
the common institutions of the
peoples; Anchoring the European
Union in the long term; Establishing
a strong global visibility for
the United Europe ; Increasing
closeness to the people, osmosis
with the European network society,
and compatibility with efficiency
requirements, Enhancing international
credibility).
(Decision: 2005/2006 - Implementation:
2008-2015)
3.
Merging the two executive functions
(Commission and Council) into
one European GOVERNMENT :
Europe should now be governed
and no longer built. In a democracy,
the two key functions, executive
and legislative, correspond to
two entities only, and not three
as in the EU today. And the competences
are not shared, so as to avoid
the multiplication of obscure
and incomprehensible procedures.
Politically there is one institution
too many, and there is no doubt
that it is the Commission.
A European Government should be
created. It should take responsibility
for the European executive, assimilating
the current executive functions
of the Commission and Council.
The European Parliament will form
the legislative branch, assimilating
the current legislative functions
of the Council and Parliament.
These two political institutions
will together incarnate the common
interest of the European Union.
The European budget will be voted
on for five years by each new
European legislature in necessary
agreement with the European Government.
Naturally, it will only deal with
spending under common policies.
In order to associate citizens
to European responsibilities,
the funding of the budget could
be bound into a single visible
source in the shape of a "
European tax ". (Added
Value: Democratising and thus
simplifying the community political
system to render it more comprehensible,
and thus more controllable by
the citizens ; Bringing a 100%
democratic anchoring of the 2
key institutions; increasing the
understanding of the decision-making
process; empowering the elected
officials)
(Decision: 2004/2005 - Implementation:
2006)
4.
Building an integrated European
PARLIAMENT mixing European and
national/regional MPs :
in order to take over an important
political role, the European parliament
must be able to integrate the
2 (or 3) identities which make
up each European. 50% of its members
should thus be elected on trans-European
lists at the level of the EU,
and 50% of them should be elected
at national level (or regional,
depending on the choice of each
country) by citizens, or even
by national (or regional) parliaments.
(Added Value: Anchoring the legislative
component of European politics
in national or regional identities
as well as the common European
identity ; Assuring its visibility
by placing this common legislative
power in one single institution
; Avoiding the complexity and
conflicts of a two chambers' system
; Strengthening significantly
the legitimacy of the Parliament,
Democratizing by giving each citizen
2 votes : national (or regional)
and European, generating a political
and electoral common layer).
(Decision: 2004/2005 - Implementation:
2009)
5.
Creating a new European function
- PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN GOVERNMENT
:
the political executive of
the EU should be easily identifiable
inside as well as outside. One
should therefore create a President
of the European Government, elected
from and by his/her peers (heads
of State or of Government in office)
for a period of 3 years. He/she
must then abandon their national
responsibilities as the primary
player in the European executive
must not be exerted by a political
" has been " but rather
by a politician who has deliberately
decided for this job. The President
of the European Government will
incarnate all the distinct aspects
of the European common policies
and will be helped on an ad hoc
basis by the other members of
the European Government. The system
of a chairman (designating a role
of moderator or referee) is maintained
on the current 6 monthly rotating
basis (" Chair ") with
a troika of past and future ("
Chairs ") assisting. The
Chair helps the President of the
European Government in his role
and chairs the meetings. (Added
Value : Reinforcing the decision-making
capacity and representation of
the EU; Insuring the democratic
legitimacy of the EU leadership
; Forcing national leaders on
considering the EU as a full-fledged
political layer ; Allowing all
Member-States to take over leadership
by turns)
(Decision: 2004/2005 - Implementation:
2009)
6.
Creating a European Common ADMINISTRATION
to implement common policies :
The European Parliament must have
a complete right of legislative
initiative, shared with the European
Government, and which carried
out, when concerning common policies,
by an integrated administration,
the European Common Administration
(ECA). In inter-governmental policies,
the right of initiative belongs
naturally to national governments
and parliaments. The initiative
to shift a policy from one level
of responsibility to another (common
or inter-governmental) belongs
to the European Government alone.
(Added Value : Ensuring a healthy
competition and an effective control
between the community executive
and legislature ; as well as between
the European and national levels
; Simplifying, Empowering, Strengthening
the decision making process)
(Decision: 2004/2005 - Implementation:
2009)
7.
Placing the European Common Administration
ON SERVICE of the European Government :
As with any administration, the
European administration must be
efficient, in the service of the
public, and responsible for the
implementation of political decisions.
It must therefore be subject to
the executive authority of the
European Government, and organised
according to the decisions it
takes into two key administrative
organs : one integrated composed
of those parts that run common
policies, called Common European
Administration (CEA); one for
inter-governmental issues, the
Council of European Ministers
(CEM), which runs inter-governmental
policies. The integrated component,
the CEA, should be formed from
parts of the Commission, and refocused
on essential jobs, and restored
in its primary vocation as an
innovative administration. The
college of Commissioners is eliminated,
whilst the Secretary General of
the ECA is helped by principal
Directors General (for Trade,
Internal Market, Competition,
Agricultural and Fisheries Policy,
Security and fight against trans-national
crime, Immigration, relations
with privileged neighbours development;
and the macro-economic and budgetary
policy for Euroland countries
only), must be given real management
authority. The other functions
of the current Commission are
transferred to the inter-governmental
branch (CEM), or are confided
to autonomous agencies, or are
eliminated. The European Court
of Justice becomes the sole guardian
of the treaties. (Added Value
: Reinforcing the legitimacy,
and therefore the operational
efficiency and political control
of the community administrative
system ; Strengthening the democratic
control upon the European institutions
; Focusing the Common executive
on its central competences ; Implementing
subsidiarity).
(Decision: 2004/2005 - Implementation:
2009)
8.
Switching from a Mr CFSP to a
MINISTER OF COMMON EXTERNAL RELATIONS
:
the existence of common policies
under the sole authority of the
European Government and European
Parliament forces that the handling
of the des external aspects of
these policies be given to a single
responsible political figure (Minister
of Common External Relations Communes
- MCERC) and to integrate into
a single administration the relevant
administrative competences (Trade,
Agriculture, Competition, Development,
…) (Common European Embassies).
He or she is chosen by the President
of the European Government from
among the current Ministers of
Foreign Affairs in office on the
national level (and has to be
a different nationality to the
President of the European Government).
He/she co-ordinates with the ministers
of Defence of the EU the implementation
of a common rapid reaction force.
All other fields of external policy
are naturally left in the hands
of Member States and their diplomatic
corps. (Added Value : Rendering
the action of the EU in the world
efficient, whilst still retaining
the diversity and wealth of Member
States' bilateral relations ;
Consistency of the internal and
external EU action ; Insuring
consistency between the President
of the European Government and
the Minister of Common External
Relations; Strengthening the image
and the weight of the EU worldwide).
(Decision: 2004/2005 - Implementation:
2009)
9.
Re-dynamising the role of the
COUNCIL OF EUROPE :
this close neighbourhood is made
up of very disparate types of
countries: from Russia to Morocco.
They all have the common point
of being historical and privileged
partners of the European Union,
without for that much having necessarily
a vocation to join in the next
few decades. It is therefore essential
to grand them the Status of Privileged
Neighbours (SPN) giving them access
to a multitude of preferential
agreements in all sectors, without
necessarily placing this policy
in a logic of coming accession.
To put these preferential policies
into place, in the inter-governmental
areas, it is necessary to re-dynamise
the Council of Europe, notably
in areas covering ethics, culture,
science, education... It must
be the institution which stimulates
the sharing of common European
values in the European neighbourhood.
A part of the funds freed from
the community budgets by the suppression
of needless Commission Directorates
General could be re-affected to
the Council of Europe. (Added
Value : Showing concern and particular
attention to the close neighbourhood
of the EU - Re-dynamising the
Council of Europe as the key actor
of the "European Neighbourhood"
; Getting out of the infernal
spiral of accessions, Strengthening
of the geo-political environment
of the EU, Linking the EU to its
neighbours in a sustainable way).
(Decision: 2004/2005 - Implementation:
2009)
10.
Preparing for the adequate HUMAN
RESOURCES to manage 21st century
Europe at large :
the best designs do not work if
they lack the necessary people.
This need is expressed both in
terms of politicians and civil
servants. As regards officials,
it is essential to avoid a bureaucratisation
of the system and thus one should
limit all careers to a maximum
of ten years in the same community
institution, whilst making it
easier to pass between the different
community and national administrations
as well as the private sector,
and imposing the requirement to
master at least three languages.
For politicians, the knowledge
of at least one foreign language
should be a requirement in order
to be accepted as a candidate
for Euro-Parliamentarian. (Added
Value : Insuring competence and
dynamism, Closing the gap between
the European administration and
European society, Creating a truly
European civil service).
(Decision: 2004/2005 - Implementation:
2009)
11.
Finding a solution to the LANGUAGE
issue :
Linguistic diversity is indispensable
to the legitimacy of the European
construction process. A certain
rationalisation is however necessary,
as much for budgetary reasons
as for efficiency. Otherwise,
the complexity and the growing
cost of the system of interpretations
will otherwise lead to apoplexy
and a rejection of the institutions.
It is therefore necessary to adopt
a system with several layers:
Two working languages for informal
administrative meetings (English
- French), Five languages for
official work (English - French
- German - Spanish - Polish),
all other languages for communications
and public meetings (e.g.: plenary
sessions of Parliament). An analogous
procedure should be followed for
the working documents and official
texts. A vast European programme
of research promoting automatic
translation should be launched
in parallel, whilst language courses
ought to be made available in
all national and regional parliaments.
(Added Value : Avoiding the tower
of Babel whilst still preserving
linguistic diversity; Preserving
the linguistic diversity whilst
ensuring a good operative functioning
; Ensuring democratic access to
debates and information).
(Decision: 2004/2005 - Implementation:
2006)
12.
Preparing for a successful ENLARGED
EU :
The success of the enlarged European
Union is a real historical challenge:
The current enlargement is only
a step on this road. The European
Union did not use the 90s to prepare
itself for enlargement, and the
candidate countries have prepared
themselves primarily to meet the
formal criteria and to start economic
reforms. Neither are really ready
for a successful enlargement in
the 2002-2004 time frame. The
hankering after the "official
" date risks compromising
the historic project, whilst 2-3
years delay would permit the EU
to succeed fully, by making sure
it is structurally and politically
ready to receive new members -
and that the candidate countries
are socially and politically ready
to take this important step. The
Copenhagen Summit must establish
a real political calendar for
enlargement, committing the heads
of State and of Government of
the EU, as well as the candidate
countries before their public
opinions. This is far from being
the case today in the EU as regards
the official calendar.
And this enlargement must be accompanied
by a vast communication campaign
on the utility of enlargement
for the EU, concluded by referendum.
(Added Value : Ensuring a successful
enlarged European Union; Achieving
the democratic unity of the continent
by 2010 ; Avoiding rejection and
populism from both sides; Democratizing
by involving public opinions).
(Decision: 2002 - Implementation:
2006)
13.
Communautarising SECURITY POLICY
and the fight against trans-national
crime :
The internal market without frontiers,
the Euro, enlargement, terrorism,
the Internet, all force the European
Union to manage more efficiently
the fight against trans-national
crime, which is more and more
professional and expert. The interests
of the Union must be preserved,
just as must those of its citizens.
The creation of an integrated
customs network, of a European
prosecutor, assisted by a European
criminal police (networked from
national police forces) and an
ad hoc network of European magistrates
will allow the EU to face up to
this rising risks. (Added Value
: Building up the internal and
external credibility of the EU,
Using the "dimension factor",
Reducing the fears linked to the
Enlargement).
(Decision: 2002/2004 - Implementation:
2006)
14.
Adopting a common framework on
IMMIGRATION which is to be implemented
on the national level :
For the European Union, immigration
is an inevitable, necessary and
useful phenomenon, but which has
to be mastered on two levels:
control of the migratory flows
in order to limit as much as possible
illegal immigration ; control
of the integration process of
immigrants, to ensure that there
children feel fully-fledged Europeans.
As regards the flows, the EU must
play as much on the common protection
of the frontiers (common customs,
common rules…) as on the
good neighbourhood, trade and
development (increased aid with
reinforced efficiency, focused
on specific issues, sanctions
against unco-operative states);
As regards integration, its refusal
by the immigrant must become synonymous
with return to their country of
origin, whilst the public authorities
(for the most part national, but
in a common strategic framework)
must ensure that this integration
is effective and come down hard
on any form of racial or religious
discrimination. (Added Value
: Empowering all the Europeans
for one of the most important
challenge of the coming decades,
Basing a trust in our common values
and their future, Linking the
EU with its neighbours, Ensuring
the EU dynamism).
(Decision: 2002/2004 - Implementation:
2005)
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