In a note dated 10 June and sent to national delegations, the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union gave a preliminary analysis of how to implement the 49 proposals and 320 measures put forward at the end of the Conference on the Future of Europe. First findings: many of the initiatives identified can be implemented under a constant treaty, while 18 specific measures would require an institutional review of the EU’s functioning.
“One of the main findings of this preliminary assessment is that a significant number of proposals and related measures are in the process of being addressed or are already addressed by the EU institutions”, by the EU institutions, say the EU Council experts. They cite policy areas - digital transformation, climate change and environment, health - where EU legislation has been adopted or is being negotiated.
According to the General Secretariat, where specific measures could be further examined by the EU institutions, this could be done, “for a large majority of cases, within the current Treaty framework”. Issues such as personal data protection, animal welfare, media freedom and the circular economy are highlighted.
In addition, certain proposals and related measures could be dealt with through flexibilities (“passerelle” clauses to end unanimity decisions by Member States, specific clauses to extend the scope of certain legal bases, enhanced cooperation).
Finally, “only a very limited number of specific measures would require Treaty change in order to be fully implemented”, according to the EU Council experts.
They list 18 in total, including: - making health and healthcare, as well as education, a shared competence of the EU; - establishing an EU-wide right to marriage and adoption for same-sex couples; - making Europe Day (9 May) an additional compulsory public holiday throughout the EU; - introducing the possibility of EU-wide referenda to be triggered by the European Parliament; - amending Article 7 TEU to establish a procedure for the enforcement of the Rule of law in the Member States; - moving from unanimity to qualified majority voting in the EU Council for situations where the “passerelle” clauses do not apply (defence issues); - direct election of the President of the Commission by European citizens; - giving the European Parliament and/or national/regional parliaments a right of legislative initiative at EU level.
This preliminary analysis, which does not prejudge the positions that the EU Council will take, will serve as a basis for the General Affairs Council of the EU’s discussions on the follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe, on Tuesday 21 June. The European Parliament is pushing for Member States to vote in favour of convening a Convention to reform the Treaties while the French Presidency of the EU Council is still in office (see EUROPE 12968/17). This issue could be discussed at the EU summit at the end of June.
On Friday 17 June, the Commission will present the state of play of its considerations on how to follow up on the outcome of the Conference. First proposals will be announced in mid-September, during the State of the EU speech of its president, Ursula von der Leyen.
See the EU Council’s overall assessment: https://aeur.eu/f/23L and detailed assessment: https://aeur.eu/f/23h (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)