How I selected this policy paper. There is getting on for an avalanche of views being expressed at the moment on the future of Europe by leading politicians across the board. There are several reasons for this - the election campaign in France and Greece, the upcoming elections in Germany and elsewhere; the six-monthly meeting of EU foreign ministers in Copenhagen; and policy documents by leading lights. Commentators and analysts are under pressure, but I will start by discussing an initiative I mentioned yesterday that has been undertaken by figureheads who are not running for office. There's a very good reason for my choice. Official leaders have to set out guidelines and manifesto statements, setting out their ideas for the future, recommending a political EU, going along with a two-speed Europe if that is necessary to make progress, and so on, but they do not set out the explicit practical details or dates. Only Sarkozy has given a timeline indication - one year for revising the Schengen agreements, a measure that has been under study for some time already at EU level and on which I will be writing a column.
On the other hand, the call by the German and Italian figureheads I mentioned yesterday has to be put into practice immediately. It clearly sets out the targets and how to reach them.
Plan of operations. To summarise the plan of operations:
(1) It is aimed at the German and Italian parliament, which have been asked to ratify the new budget pact by the end of June, to which is attached a Common Statement on the creation of a political European union and a federal government;
(2) An avant-garde of member states would then enter an extremely wide-ranging debate about reform of the Lisbon Treaty, touching on areas like energy, immigration, foreign policy and the like. Transfer of financial resources to the EU will also be discussed;
(3) Heads of state would then address the sitting of the European Parliament of 10 September 2012 to ask it to prepare a report ahead of the 2014 European elections on reform of the Lisbon Treaty, covering the above-mentioned subjects and any other matters the EP would like to add;
(4) Using the EP's report and following discussions among the member states, a Constituent Assembly would be convened after the European elections and before the end of 2014. The Constituent Assembly would draw up a draft EU treaty, which would be followed by a period of reflection in which member states could decide whether they would like to go ahead with it, or whether they would rather leave the EU.
How the budget pact would fit in with this grand EU treaty plan. The recommended process makes a connection between ratification of the budget pact and the creation of the new treaty, and this made it possible for the document to be signed by two politicians who oppose the budget pact itself. The president of the Consiglio Italiano del Movimento Europeo, Pier Virgilio Dastoli, made it crystal clear, saying that he did not want ratification of the budget pact without a clear signal of desire to move towards political union. Emma Bonino, vice-president of the Italian Senate, said that nobody was thinking of a European superstate, but rather of a federation of states sharing not only a currency and an economy, but also foreign affairs, defence, research and other issues.
The German signatories (several of whom are MEPs - see yesterday's column for details) highlighted the opportunity to make it clear that budget discipline was not the only thing Germany was ever concerned about, but it also wanted to boost political integration and consolidate European democracy. The same message was recently expressed by the German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle: “We need a genuine European Constitution.”
The plan of operations is also connected with the guidelines and programmes of the governments of a number of member states in order to breathe new life into political, supranational Europe, accepting the inevitable consequence - moving ever more clearly towards a two-speed Europe although nobody is prepared to say it.
(FR/transl.fl)