Brussels, 17/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 17 May, the European Commission praised France for its commitment to Europe and its desire to take part in the debate on how to expand economic union and political union (see below for comments by the French president, François Hollande).
A spokesperson for the European Commission, Olivier Bailly, commenting on Hollande's promise to take an “initiative” to breathe more life into Europe, said that the Commission welcomed the deep commitment of France and the French government to Europe, a Europe that is more politically and economically integrated.
A debate has been ongoing for the past two months about the need to deepen the European Union, particularly the eurozone. Several ideas are circulating in a number of countries (France and Germany) about better economic governance and even political union. The Commission says it is a positive thing that the French authorities are fully pledged to the debate and says that it too, will continue to contribute to it. In November 2012, the Commission published proposals on extending the economic integration of the eurozone though measures on eurozone governance, action to be taken in the social domain and on tax, and boosting the democratic legitimacy of decisions taken in the eurozone). Commission President José Manuel Barroso is in favour of political union as political progress needs to be made in EU integration and will issue proposals to this effect before the European elections next year, which may require a change to the EU treaty. The Commission says Political Union will be done through the European Union itself, because there is no question of smashing the European mechanism. Bailly said that both the European Union and the eurozone needed strengthening politically.
Boosting the Community Method. In response to questions from the press, Bailly said that the Commission wanted the proposals to be published, including any to amend the European treaty and expand political union, to feed into the debate that will necessarily take place at the time of the European elections. Political union, he repeated, will mean political unity within the European Union rather than as an alternative to it. Both the EU and the eurozone need political strengthening, said Bailly.
The Commission is now awaiting tangible proposals from the French government. Bailly stressed that it was clear that for the Commission, economic and political union will be achieved through strengthening the community method.
Hollande mentioned political union, but did not make it clear whether by this he meant a federal system with the transfer of national sovereignty, which is what the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel would like. (LC/transl.fl)